PRIVATE    LIBRARIES. 


INTERIOR     OF     THE     LIBRARY     OF     WM.      CURTIS     NO  YES. 


PRIVATE    LIBRARIES 


OF 


NEW    YORK. 


JAMES    W  Y  N  1ST  E  ,    M  .    33  . 


NEW    YORK : 

K  .     FRENCH,     120     NASSAU     S  T  K  K  E  T  . 
MDCCCLX. 


UBRARY 

SCHOOL 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year   I860,  by 

JAMES     WYNNE,     M.    D.  , 
In  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


C.    A.    ALVORD,    PRINTER,    NEW   YORK. 


PREFACE. 


THE  greater  part  of  the  sketches  of  Private 
Libraries  to  be  found  in  this  volume,  were 
prepared  for  and  published  in  the  EVENING 
POST,  about  two  years  since.  Their  origin  is 
due  to  a  request  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Bigelow, 
one  of  the  Editors  of  the  POST,  to  the  writer, 
to  examine  and  sketch  the  more  prominent 
private  collections  of  books  in  New  York. 
As  the  writer  had  but  recently  changed  his 
residence  from  Baltimore  to  New  York,  and 
was  quietly  awaiting  such  favors  as  the 
public  were  willing  to  award  him  as  a  prac 
titioner  of  Medicine,  he  was  entirely  unac 
quainted  with  the  extent  or  value  of  the  private 
collections,  and  hesitated  about  undertaking  a 
duty  so  congenial  to  his  feelings,  under  the 


IV  PREFACE. 


apprehension  that  the  articles  would  be  too 
meagre  to  repay  perusal.  After  an  urgent 
solicitation  he  was  finally  induced  to  visit 
the  library  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Williams,  the 
first  described  in  the  newspaper  series,  and 
was  so  charmed  with  the  collection,  and 
the  urbanity  and  learning  of  its  possessor, 
that  its  description  was  an  almost  sponta 
neous  result.  This  was  followed  by  a  second 
and  a  third,  until  the  series  had  attained 
the  number  of  twenty-six.  The  work  once 
commenced  was  continued  as  a  labor  of  love, 
and  furnished  the  writer,  who  confesses  to  the 
weakness  of  an  ardent  admiration  for  good 
books,  a  sufficient  reward  in  the  pleasure 
derived  from  its  prosecution.  The  accounts 
make  no  pretensions  to  nice  bibliographical 
knowledge,  but  present  the  reflections  which 
a  scholar,  who  has  given  a  somewhat  wide 
range  to  his  studies,  has  derived  from  an 
examination  of  the  numerous  excellent  works 
in  these  varied  collections.  Nor  are  they 
presented  in  any  spirit  of  boastfulness,  or  with 
a  belief  of  the  completeness  of  the  collections 


PKEFAOE.  V 

described.  The  writer,  in  common  with  the 
possessors  of  these  libraries,  is  too  well  aware 
of  the  difficulties  to  be  met  with  in  makino-  a 

o 

complete  collection  upon  any  subject,  and 
has  too  often  found  himself  at  fault  for  want 
of  authorities,  even  in  the  largest  public  libra 
ries  in  the  United  States,  to  entertain  any 
other  than  the  most  diffident  opinion  in  regard 
to  the  collections  described.  As  the  labors 
of  private  individuals  they  are  creditable  — 
beyond  this,  praise  would  be  worse  than 
useless. 

One  circumstance,  which  at  the  time  ex 
cited  the  surprise  of  the  writer,  in  common 
with  most  others,  and  probably  more  than 
their  literary  merit  attracted  attention  to  the 
articles  as  they  appeared  in  the  POST,  was  the 
comparatively  little  knowledge  possessed  of  the 
contents  and  value  of  the  separate  collections. 
This  was  often  as  much  a  matter  of  surprise 
to  the  owners  of  other  libraries  as  to  the 
community  at  large,  and  is  probably  to  be 
accounted  for  on  the  ground  that  the  collec 
tors  are  for  the  most  part  studious  men,  who 


VI  PREFACE. 

are  content  to  enjoy  their  own  acquisitions, 
without  allowing"  their  thoughts  to  extend  far 
beyond  the  confines  of  their  own  particular 
associations. 

The  separate  articles  have  all  undergone  a 
careful  revision,  while  many  have  been  en 
tirely  rewritten,  and  a  few  new  ones  added. 
As  it  now  stands,  the  work  may  be  consid 
ered  as  giving  a  tolerably  fair  account  of  most 
of  the  private  collections  in  New  York,  and 
will  be  a  sufficient  guide  to  the  student  as  to 
the  sources  from  which  he  may  hope  to 
derive  information,  not  to  be  found  in  the 
public  libraries.  This  has  been  a  prominent 
object  in  the  preparation  of  these  articles,  and 
has  operated  in  a  no  less  degree  with  the 
collectors  of  the  various  libraries  in  frankly 
permitting  an  account  of  them  to  be  given 
to  the  public. 

FIFTH  AVENUE,  MURRAY  HILL, 
June,  1860. 


CONTENTS 


JOHN  ALLAN'S  COLLECTION         ....         1 

HENRY  J.  ANDERSON'S  "  .         .         .         .         .           15 

PROFESSOR  ANTHON'S  " 27 

GEORGE  BANCROFT'S  u  .....           43 

THOMAS  P.  BARTON'S  " 59 

REV.  DR.  BETHUNE'S  u  .         .         .         .         .           97 

J.  CARSON  BREVOORT'S  .         .         .         .         .105 

JOSHUA  BROOKES' s  "  .         .         .         .         .         125 

WM.  E.  BURTON'S  .         .         .         .         .135 

REV.  DR.  CHAPIN'S  " 155 

ALEXANDER  I.  COTHEAL'S        "  .         .         .         .         .161 

WM.  J.  DAVIS'S  " 173 

DANIEL  EMBURY'S  "  .         .         .                -.     179 

D.  W.  FISKES'S  a 187 

GEORGE   FOLSOM'S  " 197 

REV.  DR.  FORBES' s  a 221 

DR.  J.  W.  FRANCIS'S  " 231 

A.  W.  GRISWOLD'S  " 245 

ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES'S  u  .         .         .         .         .257 

RICHARD  M.  HUNT'S  " 269 

JUDGE  KENT'S  a 281 

D.  NT.  LORD'S  "..,..         287 

REV.  DR.  MAGOON'S  u 299 

WM.  MENZIES'S  " 313 

HENRY  C.  MURPHY'S  "  .335 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PA<iE 

WM.  OUKTIS  NOYES'S  COLLECTION          .         .         .  347 

GEO.  W.  PRATT'S  " 361 

GEO.  T.  STRONG'S  .         .         .  377 

R.    L.   STUART'S  u 385 

CHAS.   M.  WHEATLEY'S  u          ....  405 
RICHARD  GRANT  WHITE'S           "     .         .         .         .         .411 

REV.  DR.  WILLIAMS'S  u          .         .         .         .  433 

MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS. 

WM.   B.  ASTOR'S  COLLECTION    ....  447 

J.  W.  ASHMEAD'S  "          ....  447 

J.   R,  BRODHEAD'S  " 448 

CHARLES  I.   BUSHNELL'S  u          ....  448 

F.   W.   COZZENS'S  u 448 

ALEXANDER  J.  DAVIS'S  "          ....  449 

W.  BUTLER  DUNCAN'S  "     .         .         .         .         .449 

CHARLES  W.   FREDERICKSON'S    u          ....  450 

JAMES  L.  GRAHAM,  JR.'S  "     .         .         .         .         .  450 

CAMPBELL  MORFIT'S  "          .         .         .         .  450 

J.  B.  MOREAU'S  " 451 

A.  J.  ODELL'S  u          ....  451 

DR.  PURPLE'S  "     .         .         .         .         .  454 

DR.  MARTYN  PAINE'S  a           .         .         .         .  454 

ANSON  G.  PHELPS,  JR.'S  " 454 

J.  AUSTIN  STEVENS'S  "  454 

BENJ.  M.  STILLWELL'S  "     .         .         .         .         .  454 

SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN'S  "          ....  455 

JOHN  VAN  BUREN'S  "     .  455 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  JOHN  ALLAN.  ESQ. 


THIS  collection,  which  numbers  between  three  and 
four  thousand  volumes,  is  perhaps  the  most  curious 
in  character,  and  peculiar  in  selection,  of  any  in 
the  city.  Its  limited  extent  necessarily  precludes 
all  idea  of  a  general  library,  which,  indeed,  has  not 
so  much  been  the  purpose  of  its  possessor,  as  the 
bringing  together  of  those  curiosities  of  literature 
which  from  being  unique,  rare,  or  associated  with 
circumstances  of  literary  note  or  importance,  are 
endowed  with  more  than  ordinary  interest.  It  thus 
happens  that,  within  the  limited  space  assigned  by 
Mr.  Allan  for  himself  in  the  formation  of  his  collec 
tion,  he  has  managed  to  include  a  larger  number  of 
those  literary  curiosities  so  much  admired  by  the 
lover  of  virtu,  or  those  who  are  affected  in  the  least 
degree  with  that  singular  yet  fascinating  character 
istic  termed  bibliomania,  or  book-madness,  than  is 
usually  found  in  the  more  extensive  private  collec 
tions. 

Notwithstanding  Bruyere's  humorous  account  of 
1 


2  LIBRARIES    OF    ^EW    YORK. 

this  class  of  persons,  as  those  who  are  "  fond  of 
superb  bindings  alone,"  and  who  "  nearly  cause  one 
to  faint  by  the  strong  smell  of  morocco  leather,"  or 
that  of  Peignot,  who  defines  this  to  be  "  a  passion 
for  possessing  books,  not  so  much  to  be  instructed 
by  them,  as  to  gratify  the  eye  by  looking  on  them," 
and  is  satisfied  with  dates  and  titles  so  far  as  the 
contents  are  concerned;  yet  the  book  of  especial 
interest,  first  pointed  out  in  every  collection,  either 
public  or  private,  and  chiefly  remembered  by  the 
casual  visitor,  belongs  exclusively  to  this  class.  Thus 
the  British  Museum  possesses  a  number  of  books 
which  owe  their  chief  value  to  the  circumstance  of 
once  having  belonged  to  the  library  of  Henry  VII. 
A  copy  of  Lord  Bacon's  Essays,  published  in  1798, 
in  the  library  of  the  Earl  of  Spencer,  is  placed  above 
all  price,  because  it  is  one  of  five  copies  printed 
on  royal  folio.  It  is  apprehended  that  no  person 
would  give  one  thousand  dollars  for  a  copy  of 
the  first  folio  edition  of  Shakspeare's  works,  or 
£56  14s.  for  a  copy  of  a  single  play,  scarce  fifty 
leaves  in  thickness,  as  mentioned  in  the  description 
of  Mr.  Barton's  library,  without  the  associations  con 
nected  with  them,  which  bestow  on  many  of  the 
curiosities  in  Mr.  Allan's  collection  their  chief  value. 
In  Lord  Spencer's  collection  there  is  an  octavo 
edition  of  Shakspeare,  bequeathed  to  him  by  Mr. 


MR.  ALLAN'S  COLLECTION.  3 

Stevens,  illustrated  by  many  curious  specimens  of 
graphic  art  by  the  present  possessor,  which  would, 
if  brought  to  hammer,  bring  a  price  even  greater 
than  the  sums  already  named.  In  a  subsequent 
chapter,  an  illustrated  edition  of  this  great  poet's 
writings  will  be  noticed,  which,  in  point  of  cost,  and 
number  and  magnificence  of  illustrations,  probably 
surpasses  any  thing  of  the  kind  in  existence. 

Mr.  Allan  possesses  a  large  and  valuable  collection 
of  illustrated  works,  or  those  in  which  plates  have 
been  inserted  which  do  not  belong  to  the  volume, 
but  are  pertinent  to  the  subject  treated,  comprising 
upward  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  volumes, 
many  of  which  are  illustrated  and  bound  in  the  very 
best  style  of  the  art.  Among  these  is  a  copy  of 
Campbell's  Pleasures  of  Hope,  Pope's  Kape  of  the 
Lock,  and  Cowper's  Task,  inserted  in  sheets  extended 
to  the  size  of  a  quarto,  and  illustrated  with  a  large 
number  of  engravings.  The  Pleasures  of  Memory, 
by  Rogers,  similarly  arranged,  containing  an  auto 
graph  letter  from  the  author  to  Mr.  Bellamy,  editor 
of  the  Monthly  Mirror,  dated  January  4th,  1797  ;  a 
unique  quarto  copy  of  Byron's  English  Bards  and 
Scotch  Reviewers,  from  the  dispersed  library  of 
William  TJpcott,  of  London,  a  celebrated  collector  of 
curious  books,  illustrated  with  portraits  and  auto 
graph  letters  of  the  chief  persons  noticed  in  the 


LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

work.  The  autograph  letters  include  those  of  Lord 
Byron,  Lady  Byron  Gordon,  the  poet's  mother,  Wil 
liam  Cobbett,  the  poets  Samuel  Rogers,  William 
Wordsworth,  Charles  Lamb,  Rev.  W.  L.  Bowles  and 
James  Montgomery  and  Joseph  Cottle,  John  Murray, 
Byron's  publisher;  T.  Sheridan,  Mr.  Constable,  Sid 
ney  Smith,  and  William  Gifford,  the  editor  of  the 
London  Quarterly.  All  of  these  volumes,  which 
have  been  illustrated  with  great  care  by  engravings 
brought  together  in  this  connection  for  the  first  and 
only  time,  are  bound  by  binders  of  considerable  note 
in  their  best  manner. 

In  addition  is  a  unique  copy  of  the  Life  of  Sir 
Humphrey  Davy,  in  two  volumes,  illustrated  by  the 
inserted  engravings  of  the  likenesses  of  most  of  the 
distinguished  English  philosophers  contemporary 
with  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  and  containing  autograph 
letters  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  Sir  Anthony  Carlisle, 
P.  M.  Cruikshank,  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie,  Count 
Rumford,  Sir  John  Herschel,  Sir  John  Sinclair,  Wil- 
berforce,  Earl  of  Spencer,  Sir  Ralph  Milbank,  the 
father  of  Lady  Byron,  Sir  John  Pringle,  President 
of  the  Royal  Society,  Sir  Everard  Home,  Sir  James 
Mackintosh,  and  numerous  others  from  persons  who 
had  distinguished  themselves  for  scientific  attain 
ments.  To  the  scientific  man  this  work  possesses 
more  interest  than  any  other  in  the  collection,  and 


ME.  ALLAN'S  COLLECTION. 


there  is  none  which  appears  to  associate  the  reader 
so  intimately  with  these  distinguished  savans  as  this 
unique  copy  of  the  life  of  one  of  the  most  gifted 
among  their  number. 

There  is  also  an  illustrated  Life  of  Mary  Queen  of 
Scots,  by  Buckingham,  in  four  volumes,  bound  by 
Tarrant.  A  copy  of  the  Catalogue  Haisonne  of  select 
engravings,  by  Wilson,  on  large  paper,  illustrated 
by  engravings  collected  by  Mr.  Allan;  likewise  a 
copy  of  the  same  work,  enriched  by  engravings  col 
lected  in  London  for  Mr.  Allan,  by  Evans,  the  cele 
brated  print-seller,  bound  by  Hay  day,  and  a  third 
copy  of  the  same  catalogue  now  being  completed  by 
its  possessor.  This  work  is  considered  as  a  highly 
valuable  catalogue  of  the  best  engravings  by  nearly 
all  the  celebrated  masters,  both  ancient  and  modern, 
and  is  arranged  with  much  care.  Its  price,  without 
illustrations,  is  one  and  a  half  guineas.  The  engrav 
ings,  however,  add  largely  to  the  interest  and  the 
pecuniary  value  of  the  Catalogues  in  this  collection. 

Akin  to  this  is  The  Print  Collector,  by  Maberly, 
a  gentleman  of  fortune  and  excellent  taste,  who 
amused  himself  by  collecting  a  choice  gallery  of 
engravings  by  the  ablest  artists,  distinguished  for 
rarity  or  beauty  of  design  or  execution.  Many  of 
the  engravings  in  this  gallery  (since  sold)  are  de 
scribed  in  this  volume.  The  work  contains  an 


6  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

account  of  the  works  of  the  noted  engravers,  from 
the  inception  of  the  art  down  to  the  present  time, 
and  is  held  in  high  repute  by  those  who  are  most 
conversant  wdth  engravers  and  their  works.  The 
present  copy  contains  seventy-two  inserted  specimens 
of  the  engravings  of  the  artists  named  in  the  text, 
and  is  richly  bound  in  morocco  by  Mackenzie. 

A  very  remarkable  work  in  the  illustrated  depart 
ment  of  the  collection  is  an  edition  of  Robert  Fulton 
on  Canals,  which  contains,  in  addition  to  the  engrav 
ings,  all  the  original  drawings  executed  by  Fulton 
himself,  from  which  the  engravings  were  afterward 
made.  Fulton,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  in  youth 
an  artist,  and  for  a  time  not  only  assisted  Benjamin 
West  in  his  studio,  but  was  an  inmate  of  his  family. 
The  sketches  in  water-color  in  this  volume,  although 
not  elaborate,  give  evidence  of  the  free  and  rapid 
hand  of  one  habituated  to  the  use  of  the  pencil  of 
the  designer.  In  addition  to  these  drawings  the 
volume  contains  the  original  joint  letter  of  Fulton 
and  his  colleague  and  generous  patron,  Chancellor 
Livingston,  asking  the  undisputed  right  to  the  use 
of  steam  navigation  upon  the  waters  of  the  state 
for  a  specified  term  of  years.  There  are  those  still 
living  who  witnessed  the  first  experiment  of  Fulton 
in  the  harbor  of  New  York,  and  many  by  whom 
this  relic  of  a  great  inventor  and  a  courteous  gentle- 


MR.  ALLAN'S  COLLECTION. 


man  will  be  looked  upon  as  a  curious  and  valuable 
remembrancer. 

Besides  the  works  already  enumerated  are  three 
editions  of  the  Works  of  Robert  Burns ;  two  copies 
of  Chattos  on  Wood  Engraving ;  Chinese  Courtship ; 
Hogg's  Queen's  Wake ;  Hollan's  Catalogues ;  Wash 
ington  Irving's  Knickerbocker's  History  of  New 
York,  and  Rip  Van  Winkle,  illustrated  by  Mr. 
Allan;  Putnam's  Journal;  several  copies  of  Ram 
say's  Gentle  Shepherd ;  Scribbleomania ;  Trumbull's 
Life  and  Times ;  and  Pickering's  edition  of  Walton 
and  Cotton's  Angler,  in  which  the  inserted  illustra 
tions  extend  two  volumes  to  four. 

But  perhaps  the  most  curious  work  in  the  col 
lection,  as  a  mere  illustrated  volume,  although  far 
inferior  to  some  others  as  a  work  of  literary  merit, 
is  Dibdin's  Bibliomania,  of  the  edition  of  1811, 
illustrated  with  two  hundred  and  eleven  engravings, 
many  of  which  are  excellent  impressions,  and  some 
from  private  plates.  This  copy,  which  is  in  two 
volumes,  belonged  to  and  was  illustrated  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  William  Turner,  of  Islington, 
England,  of  whom  Dibdin  says :  "  That  of  all  the 
worshippers  of  bibliomania,  he  was  the  most  ardent, 
the  most  constant,  the  most  generous,  sparing  noth 
ing  wherewith  to  decorate  her  person,  or  add  to  the 
treasures  of  her  wardrobe."  Every  leaf  in  this 


8  LIBKAEIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

volume  has  been  inserted,  and  the  whole  extended 
to  the  size  of  an  imperial  octavo.  It  is  bound  in 
green  morocco,  by  Charles  Lewis,  Sen.,  and  is  an 
excellent  specimen  of  his  workmanship.  Upon  the 
decease  of  Mr.  Turner,  it  was  purchased  by  Evans, 
the  print-seller,  and  by  him  sold  to  the  late  Mr. 
Town  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Upon  the 
dispersion  of  this  collection,  it  fell  into  the  hands  of 
its  present  owner. 

All  of  the  works  enumerated  as  illustrated  are 
unique,  and  contain  inserted  engravings,  or  engrav 
ings  and  autograph  letters.  The  origin  of  this  fancy 
for  books  containing  inserted  engravings  representing 
characters  or  circumstances  mentioned  in  the  work, 
has  been  ascribed  to  the  publication  of  Granger's 
Biographical  History  of  England,  in  1Y66,  1804 
and  1806.  "His  History  of  England,"  remarks 
Dibdin,  "  seems  to  have  sounded  the  tocsin  for  a 
general  rummage  after,  and  slaughter  of  old  prints. 
Venerable  philosophers  and  veteran  heroes,  who  had 
long  reposed  in  unmolested  dignity  within  the  mag 
nificent  folio  volumes  which  recorded  their  achieve 
ments,  were  instantly  dragged  from  their  peaceful 
abodes,  to  be  inlaid  by  the  side  of  some  spruce 
modern  engraving  within  an  ILLUSTRATED  GEANGEE. 
From  these  it  has  glanced  off  in  a  variety  of  direc 
tions,  and  the  passion,  or  rather  this  symptom  of 


MK.  ALLAN'S  COLLECTION.  9 

bibliomania,  still  rages  with  undiminished  force.  If 
judiciously  treated,  it  is  of  all  the  symptoms  the 
least  liable  to  mischief;  as  to  possess  a  series  of 
well-executed  portraits  of  illustrious  men,  from 
blooming  boyhood  to  phlegmatic  old  age,  is  suffi 
ciently  amusing." 

The  department  of  Fine  Arts  is  supplied  with 
nearly  two  hundred  volumes,  some  of  which  are 
works  of  much  merit.  Among  these  are  the  Cabinet 
de  Choiseul,  Cabinet  de  Poullain,  Lima  Doria  Car- 
affa,  Chinese  Illustrations,  Albert  Durer's  Designs, 
and  Gubitz's  Etchings  on  Wood,  and  a  description  of 
the  works  of  Wenceslaus  Hollar,  containing  a  par 
ticular  account  of  each  of  his  engravings,  many  of 
which  were  in  the  collection  made  by  Charles  I. 

This  celebrated  engraver  was  born  in  Prague, 
in  1607,  and  bred  to  the  pursuit  of  law.  Driven 
from  home  by  civil  commotions,  he  became  at 
Frankfort  a  pupil  of  Merian,  and  made  such  prog 
ress  that  at  eighteen  he  published  his  Ecce  Homo, 
and  Virgin  and  Child.  He  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  Earl  of  Arundel,  with  whom  he  went  to 
England,  where  he  executed  most  of  his  superior 
designs. 

The  department  devoted  to  emblems,  which  con 
tains  about  one  hundred  volumes,  is  probably  the 
most  curious,  and  perhaps  the  most  extensive,  in  the 


10  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

United  States.  In  it  are  found  Iselburgh  Emblem- 
atica  Politica  Moralia,  published  at  Nuremberg  in 
1590;  Jacob  Cat's  folio  works,  containing  his  Em 
blems,  published  in  1656 ;  Theatrum  Ethnica  Politico 
Historicum.  Meisner's  Emblems,  containing  views 
of  the  chief  cities  and  palaces  in  the  world,  with 
emblems  in  the  foreground,  and  proverbs  in  Latin 
and  German ;  Emblems  by  Crispin  de  Pass,  a  rare 
copy ;  and  Wither' s  Emblems,  containing  a  valuable 
portrait  of  the  author,  by  Payne,  and  a  frontispiece 
by  Marshall,  one  of  the  best  engravers  of  his  day, 
for  a  copy  of  whose  likeness  of  Lord  Stirling,  <£50 
were  given;  also,  Monastic  Symbols  and  Mono 
grams,  being  the  original  drawings  and  manuscript ; 
and  a  curious  manuscript  work,  entitled  Paradoxa 
Emblemata,  by  Dionysius  Andreas  Freher. 

The  collection  contains  about  one  hundred  vol 
umes  of  Scrap  Books  made  up  of  drawings,  some 
of  which  are  of  much  merit.  Of  these  books  some 
consist  entirely  of  beautiful  drawings,  others  of  col 
ored  engravings,  and  others  still  of  the  best  speci 
mens  of  engraving  executed  within  the  last  fifty 
years  the  collector  could  possess  himself  of.  There 
is  a  collection  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  Fac 
similes  of  scarce  and  curious  prints  by  the  early 
masters,  illustrative  of  the  history  of  engraving,  by 
Win.  Young  Ottley,  in  folio ;  also,  Shaw's  Dresses 


MR.  ALLAN'S  COLLECTION.  11 

and  Decorations  of  the  Middle  Ages,  in  two  volumes 
folio,  on  large  paper ;  Shaw's  Illuminated  Ornaments 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  in  like  condition;  Lyndsay's 
Fac-simile  of  an  Ancient  Heraldic  Manuscript,  Edin 
burgh,  1822,  of  which  100  copies  only  were  printed; 
Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  with  plates  by  Picart,  pub 
lished  at  Amsterdam,  a  copy  of  which  was  sold  in 
New  York  for  $45 ;  the  original  edition  of  Burns's 
Poems,  published  at  Kilmarnock  in  IT 8 6,  now  so 
rare  that  there  are  probably  not  more  than  five  or 
six  copies  in  the  whole  country ;  Whetstone's  "  Eng 
lish  Myrror "  in  black  letter,  beautifully  bound, 
published  at  London  in  1586,  and  very  rare;  Trac- 
tatus  Verborum,  a  small  tract,  printed  by  Wynkyn 
de  Worde  and  bound  by  Mackenzie,  with  no  date; 
Curtes's  Navigation,  by  Eden ;  The  Simple  Cobbler 
of  Aggawam,  London,  1647;  Spenser's  Collin  Clout, 
London,  1595;  Holland's  Horologia  Anglica ;  the 
Nuremberg  Chronicle,  1st  edition;  the  Gospels  of 
the  Four  Evangelists,  in  Saxon  and  English,  black 
letter,  15  71 ;  the  black  letter  edition  of  Eeynard 
the  Fox,  three  parts,  quarto,  published  in  1681 ;  and 
a  very  curious  little  work  called  "  The  Byrth  of 
Mankind,"  in  black  letter,  which  is  the  first  treatise 
on  Obstetrics  ever  printed  in  English,  published 
in  1540.  The  copy  in  Mr.  Allan's  collection  once 
belonged  to  Dr.  Robert  Bland,  and  contains  his 


12  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

crest,  with  an  autograph  note  appended  by  this 
distinguished  physician,  with  an  account  of  the 
work,  which  is  here  given : 

"  It  is  a  translation  of  Eucharius  Rhodion,  De 
Partu  liominis,  published  originally  in  German,  and 
first  translated  into  Latin  and  printed  at  Fearnslu- 
ford,  in  the  year  1532.  This  was  again  translated 
in  1545,  and  published,  with  considerable  additions 
not  in  the  original,  by  Thomas  Raynauld,  physician, 
of  which  there  have  been  since  printed  some  more 
editions.  Of  this  translation,  which  is  exceedingly 
scarce,  there  never  was  another  edition. — R.  B." 

An  account  of  this  may  be  found  in  Vol.  III.  of 
Typographical  Antiquities  of  Great  Britain,  and  in 
the  Gentleman? s  Magazine  for  1752,  p.  78. 

There  are  at  least  thirty  specimens  of  Missals, 
illuminated  manuscripts,  and  books  of  an  early  date 
printed  on  vellum,  some  of  which  are  very  beautiful 
and  valuable.  The  collection  of  Bibles,  Testaments 
and  Psalms,  is  large ;  among  them  is  a  Bible  in  man 
uscript  on  vellum,  of  the  fourteenth  century;  the 
Vulgate,  printed  in  1493;  the  English  Breeches 
Bible,  as  it  was  termed,  because  in  the  translation 
"breeches"  was  used  for  "apron,"  published  in 
1589;  and  an  Indian  translation,  printed  at  Cam 
bridge,  Mass.,  in  1663,  styled,  Eliot's  Indian  Bible, 
the  first  edition  of  the  Bible  published  in  America. 


ME.  ALLAN'S  COLLECTION.  13 

A  copy  of  tliis  Bible  was  recently  sold  at  the  sale 
of  Mr.  Corwin's  collection,  for  two  hundred  dollars, 
inferior  to  this  in  point  of  condition. 

The  collection  possesses  an  elegant  copy  of  Numis- 
inati  Virorum  Illustrium  Ba/rbadici,  published  in 
1723,  at  the  expense  of  Cardinal  Barbadici,  whose 
family  medals  it  delineates.  The  whole  is  executed 
with  a  magnificence  of  style  in  printing  and  engrav 
ing,  which  nothing  short  of  the  most  lavish  expendi 
ture  could  have  enabled  its  projector  to  accomplish. 
A  second  part  was  added  after  his  decease,  but  in  a 
style  far  inferior  to  the  portion  of  the  work  executed 
at  the  command  of  the  cardinal. 

There  is  an  excellent  copy  of  Anderson's  Selectus 
Diploinatum  et  Numi>smatum  Scotic/B  Tlie-saurus,  &c., 
containing  several  hundred  engraved  fac-similes  of 
ancient  deeds  and  charters,  folio,  1739.  The  collec 
tion  contains  a  Bibliotlieca  Anglo-Poetica,  highly 
illustrated;  the  Decameron,  three  volumes;  Typo 
graphical  Antiquities,  quarto,  four  volumes ;  Royal 
Tribes  of  Wales ;  a  large  number  of  works  relating 
to  Mary  Queen  of  Scots.  There  is  a  copy  of  Mau- 
ber's  Einblemata,  which  was  presented  by  the 
Countess  of  Guildford  to  Fuseli.  Mr.  Allan's  copy 
of  the  Rape  of  the  Lock  contains  a  beautiful  draw 
ing  by  Lady  Susan  North,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of 
Guildford,  and  a  pupil  of  Fuseli's.  It  was  drawn  by 


14  LIBRARIES    OF    1STEW    YORK. 

Lady  North  especially  for  this  work,  as  an  expression 
of  her  regard  for  the  country  (United  States)  for 
which  the  volume  was  destined. 

It  is  usual  to  find  in  each  collection  some  works 
valued  on  account  of  their  peculiarities  or  rarity, 
but  one  like  the  present,  where  they  constitute  the 
chief  feature,  is  rare,  and  yet  the  possessor  has  war 
rant  for  this  in  venerable  and  high  authority.  Thus 
Pope  assigns  to 


'  Pembroke,  statues,  dirty  gods  and  coins  ; 
Rare  monkish  manuscripts  for  Hearne  alone ; 
And  books  to  Mead,  and  butterflies  to  Sloane.' 


To  what  an  extent  this  fondness  for  the  collection 
of  rare  curiosities  led  Dr.  Mead,  one  of  the  most 
eminent  medical  men  of  his  day,  may  be  seen  by 
the  account  of  the  sale  of  his  books  and  objects 
of  vertu: 

£  8.         (\. 

His  books  brought 5,496  15  0 

Pictures 3,417  1 1  0 

Prints  and  drawings 1,908  14  0 

Coins  and  medals 1,977  17  0 

Antiquities 3,246  15  0 


£16,047     12     0 


A  considerable  sum  to  expend  in  works  of  this 
kind ;  and  yet  Dr.  Mead  was  not  a  rich  man. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  HENRY  J.  ANDERSON,  LL.  D. 


DR.  ANDERSON'S  Collection,  which  contains  about 
seven  thousand  volumes,  is  one  of  marked  character, 
and  bears  a  strong  impress  of  the  various  pursuits 
which  at  different  periods  of  its  collector's  life, 
intensely  occupied  his  attention.  Bred  to  the  pro 
fession  of  medicine,  afterward  a  professor  of  mathe 
matics  and  astronomy  in  Columbia  College,  with  a 
strong  attachment  for  geological  and  classical  studies, 
an  amateur  in  chess,  and  fortunate  in  the  possession 
of  means  to  enable  him  to  collect  works  at  his 
pleasure,  he  has  enriched  his  library  with  many  of 
the  most  erudite  authors  in  each  of  these  depart 
ments.  That  of  mathematics,  however,  the  teaching 
of  which  was  the  pursuit  of  his  life  for  fifteen  years, 
is  by  far  the  most  complete  and  valuable.  In  this 
department  are  most  of  the  treatises  of  D'Alembert, 
Condorcet,  Carnot,  Bossut,  Legendre,  Bailly,  Arago, 
Ampere,  and  most  of  the  French  mathematicians  of 
this  period.  Among  these  are  D'Alembert's  Essai 
d/un  Nouvelle  Tlieorie  de  la  Resistance  des  Fluides. 


16  LIBRARIES    OF    WEW    YORK. 

Paris,  1752,  4to.  D'Alembert's  entire  works,  in  five 
volumes,  published  at  Paris,  1821-2.  D'Alembert's 
Traite  de  Dynamique,  Paris,  1796.  Condorcet's  Du 
Calcul  Integral,  Paris,  1768,  4to.  Du  Problem  des 
Trow  Corps,  Paris,  1767.'  Essai  sur  1} Application 
de  I  Analyse  a  la  Probabilite  des  Decisions,  Paris, 
1785.  Bailly's  Astronomie  Modern,  Paris,  1782-4; 
and  Histoire  de  I  Astronomie  Ancienne  jusqii'a 
1}  Etablissement  de  lEcole  d 'Alexandrie,  Paris,  1775, 
4to.,  a  work  of  the  most  exact  information  and 
profound  erudition.  It  is  written  in  a  style  of 
much  elegance,  and  compares  favorably  in  this 
respect  with  the  writings  of  Fontenelle,  who  w^as 
the  first  to  introduce  a  graceful  style  into  scientific 
writings  in  France.  Some  objections  made  by  Vol 
taire  to  the  view  taken  of  the  philosophy  of  the 
Brahmins,  whom  he  ranked  as  the  inventors  of  all 
the  sciences,  involved  Bailly  in  a  discussion  on  this 
subject  which  gave  rise  to  the  Lettres  sur  TOrigine 
des  Sciences,  and  the  Atlantide  de  Platon,  in  which 
he  alleges  that  the  creation  of  all  the  arts  is  due  to 
an  ancient  people  who  inhabited  the  elevated  plains 
of  eastern  Tartary,  and  who  being  dispersed  by  the 
revolutions  of  nature  over  the  globe,  left  among  the 
people  with  whom  they  were  thus  brought  into  con 
tact,  the  elements  of  this  knowledge,  the  evidence  of 
which  is  to  be  traced  in  the  traditions  and  obscure 


DR.  ANDERSON'S  COLLECTION.  17 


memorials  of  most  of  the  eastern  nations.  In  this 
manner  the  arts  are  supposed  to  have  passed  into 
China,  the  Indies,  Chaldea  and  Greece,  and  through 
this  latter  channel  into  Rome,  and  from  thence  to 
the  various  civilized  nations  of  the  western  world. 
The  recent  developments  in  China  clearly  show,  that 
this  exclusive  people  are  in  the  possession  of  many 
arts,  which  among  Europeans  are  supposed  to  be  of 
modern  origin,  and  give  a  new  significance  to  the 
views  of  Bailly,  upon  whose  theory  their  existence 
is  of  easy  and  practical  solution.  In  fact,  among 
the  academicians  of  France,  whose  varied  contribu 
tions  to  science  at  this  period  have  never  been 
surpassed,  Bailly  occupied  a  prominent  position. 
His  observations  upon  the  moon,  the  zodiacal  stars 
and  the  satellites  of  Jupiter,  with  the  tables  of  their 
movements,  contributed  to  the  Academy,  at  once 
raised  him  to  the  foremost  rank  of  astronomical 
observers.  He  was  associated  with  Franklin  in  the 
commission  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  delusion  of 
animal  magnetism ;  was  the  friend  and  supporter  of 
La  Fayette,  in  his  attempts  to  curb  the  atrocities  of 
the  French  revolutionists ;  and  finally  fell  a  victim 
to  their  fury  by  a  death  upon  the  scaffold,  in  Novem 
ber,  1793. 

A  very  valuable  work  in  this  connection  is  Sou- 
ciet's   Observations  MatJiematiques^  Astronomiques, 
3 


18  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Geographiques,  Chronologiques  et  Physiques,  tirees 
des  anciens  livres  Chinois,  ou  fait  nouvellement  aux 
Indes  et  a  la  Chine  par  les  Peres  de  la  Oompagnie  de 
Jesus,  3  vols.,  Paris,  1729-1732,  4to.,  wliicli  demon 
strates  the  possession  of  a  considerable  amount  of 
exact  information  in  regard  to  these  sciences,  at  the 
time  when  the  Jesuits  first  began  their  missionary 
labors  among  them. 

In  this  department  of  the  library  are  Aetius's 
Primum  Mobile  Astronomice,  Stiographice,  Geome- 
trice  et  Hydrographice,  Nova  Methodo  Explicatum 
in  V  partibus,  4to.,  Amsterdam,  1631;  Borellius's 
De  vero  Telescopii  Inventore  cum  brevi  omnium  con- 
spiciliorum  Historia,  Hague,  1655  ;  Borellius's  Ele- 
nienta  Conica  Apollonii  Pergcei,  et  Archimedis 
Opera,  Rome,  1679  ;  Boscovich's  De  Inequalitatibus 
quas  Saturnus  et  Jupiter  sibi  mutuo  videntur  indu- 
cere,  prcesertim  Circa  Tempus  Conjunctionis,  Kome, 
1Y56,  4to. ;  Lorgna's  Mathematical  and  Physical 
Works,  published  at  Verona,  It 70,  4to. ;  Lorgna's 
Dissertation  on  the  Summation  of  the  Infinite  Con 
verging  Series  with  Algebraic  Divisors,  London, 
1799,  4 to. ;  Mac  Laurin's  Geometria  Organica,  Lon 
don,  1720;  Mac  Laurin's  Treatise  of  Fluxions,  Ed 
inburgh,  1742,  4to. ;  Merius's  De  Phmnomenis  in 
Orbe  Lunce  Telescopii  usu  a  Galileo  Suscitatis, 
Venice,  1612;  and  Pitiscus's  Thesaurus  Mathemat- 


DR.    ANDERSONS    COLLECTION.  19 

icus,  Frankfort,  1613.  This  work,  which  is  the 
most  extended  in  existence  on  the  sinus,  is  very 
rare.  Delambre  knew  of  but  three  copies,  one  in 
the  library  of  the  Institute,  one  in  that  of  Baron  de 
Zach,  and  the  third  in  his  own.  It  was  originally 
prepared  by  Kheticus,  but  the  manuscript  was 
found  with  the  papers  of  Valentine  Otho,  the 
first  editor  of  the  Opus  Palatinum,  and  confounded 
with  his  writings. 

There  is  a  copy  of  Bougainville's  Calculi  Infini- 
tesimalis  Pars  II.,  sen  Calculus  Integralis,  1764, 
4to.  This  treatise  was  first  published  in  1754, 
when  its  author  was  but  twenty-five  years  of  age. 
He  appears  to  have  been  of  a  very  adventurous 
turn  of  mind,  and  instead  of  continuing  in  France 
to  follow  up  the  reputation  his  work  had  gained 
for  him,  embarked  the  following  year  for  Canada, 
where  he  served  with  distinction  as  a  captain  and 
adjutant  to  Montcalm.  Upon  the  decease  of  his 
superior  officer  he  returned  to  France,  and  obtained 
permission  to  colonize  the  Falkland  Islands,  where 
he  remained  about  three  years.  He  made  many 
discoveries  of  islands,  and  was  the  first  French 
captain  who  circumnavigated  the  globe. 

Among  the  most  ancient  of  the  mathematical 
and  astronomical  works  is  Ptolemy's  Almagest, 
edited  by  Peter  Liechtenstein,  published  at  Venice, 


20  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

1515,  folio.  Ptolemy  was  without  doubt  the 
most  distinguished  astronomer  of  antiquity.  In 
such  high  esteem  was  he  held  by  his  contem 
poraries  that  they  always  associated  such  titles 
as  "  admirable,"  "  astonishing,"  and  "  divine,"  with 
his  name.  He  enriched  the  school  of  Alexandria 
with  his  labors,  and  on  this  account  Synesius, 
in  speaking  of  it,  calls  it  "  the  divine  school."  He 
affixed  to  his  treatise  on  astronomy  the  modest  title 
of  Syntaxis  Matliematica,  or  Mathematical  Composi 
tion,  but  his  editors  changed  this  to  "  Tlie  Very 
Great  (ji  ^jio-rfj  Composition,"  out  of  which  the 
Arabic  translators  made,  by  corrupting  the  Greek, 
their  "Almagest." 

There  is  found  in  this  great  work,  written  at  the 
time  when  Egypt  was  the  centre  of  science,  and  the 
western  world  was  enshrouded  in  the  most  profound 
intellectual  darkness,  a  clear  exposition  of  the  system 
of  the  world,  the  arrangement  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
and  their  revolutions,  a  complete  treatise  on  Trigo 
nometry,  both  rectilinear  and  spherical,  and  all  the 
phenomena  of  diurnal  movement  explained  and 
calculated  with  the  most  remarkable  precision; 
which  appears  the  more  extraordinary  when  it  is 
considered  how  imperfectly  arithmetic  and  trigo 
nometry  were  understood  at  a  later  period  among 
_  Greeks.  The  Almagest  gives  a  description 


DR.  ANDERSON'S  COLLECTION.  21 


of  all  the  instruments  necessary  for  a  great  observ 
atory,  and  describes  the  celebrated  "  armilles,"  used 
in  observing  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic,  the  equi 
noxes  and  the  solstices.  One  of  these  "  armilles," 
being  placed  upon  the  plane  of  the  meridian,  served 
to  determine  the  declension  of  all  the  stars;  the 
other,  being  placed  upon  the  plane  of  the  equator, 
gave  the  equinoxes  and  the  length  of  the  year. 

Ptolemy  conceived  a  movable  quarter  of  a  circle, 
which  he  was  enabled  to  turn  at  will  to  the  different 
quarters  of  the  horizon.  With  this  instrument  he 
asserts  that  he  was  enabled  to  measure  an  arc  of  the 
great  circle  of  the  terrestrial  globe,  without  being 
obliged,  as  his  predecessors  were,  to  change  it  within 
the  plane  of  the  meridian.  In  this  work  is  to  be 
found  the  first  description  of  the  equatorial.  For 
more  delicate  observations,  Ptolemy  invented  a 
species  of  sector,  of  greater  radius,  in  which  the 
degrees  were  susceptible  of  a  much  more  minute 
subdivision  than  in  any  of  those  of  preceding  astron 
omers.  Following  the  example  of  Hipparchus,  and 
without  having  seen  the  instrument  of  this  great 
astronomer,  he  constructed  an  astrolabe,  to  compose 
a  new  catalogue  of  stars,  and  to  follow  easily  the 
course  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  the  planets.  For 
astronomical  researches  in  all  ages,  he  constructed 
a  celestial  globe,  movable  at  the  poles,  upon  which 


22  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

he  placed  all  the  then  known  stars,  with  their  lati 
tude  and  longitude.  In  short,  but  for  the  labors  of 
this  great  philosopher,  as  developed  in  the  Alma 
gest,  it  is  very  certain  that  astronomy  would  be 
far  less  advanced  than  it  is  at  the  present  day,  and 
it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  the  discoveries  of 
Kepler  and  Newton,  which  flowed  as  a  conse 
quence  from  them,  might  have  remained  as  pro 
found  mysteries  as  they  were  before  the  days  of 
these  great  philosophers.  The  annexed  remarkable 
expression  is  affixed  to  his  works :  "  I  know  that  I 
am  mortal,  and  that  my  career  will  not  be  of  long 
duration,  but  when  I  follow  in  spirit  the  course  of 
the  stars,  my  feet  do  not  touch  the  earth.  Seated 
near  to  Jupiter,  like  to  a  god  I  am  nourished  on 
heavenly  nectar." 

Among  the  works  of  the  German  astronomers 
and  mathematicians,  are  those  of  Bode,  Doppelmayr, 
Encke,  Euler,  Eytelwein,  Gauss,  Huygens,  Hensius, 
Hell,  Idler,  Kant,  Juni,  Kastner,  Kautsch,  Kinder- 
mann,  Kircher,  Lehmann,  Leibnitz,  Leonelli,  Muller, 
and  Ozanam,  including  the  Astronomisches  Jahrlmch 
of  Bode,  and  Berlin  Astronomi-sclie  Jdhrbuch,  con 
ducted  by  Encke,  as  well  as  the  Epliemerides  Astro- 
nomicce,  anno  1765,  in  17  vols.,  by  PI  ell.  This  latter 
writer,  w^ho  was  a  native  of  Hungary,  and  a  member 
of  the  order  of  Jesus,  occupied  the  post  of  astrono- 


DR.    ANDERSONS    COLLECTION.  23 

mer  to  the  observatory  at  Vienna  for  thirty-six  years, 
during  which  time  he  went  to  Lapland  to  observe 
the  transit  of  Venus,  an  account  of  which,  entitled 
Observatio  Transitus  Veneris,  ante  discum  Solis,  die  3 
Junii,  1769,  is  in  the  library.  In  Vl 7 5,  he  pub 
lished  the  "  Almanach  Vienese,"  which  furnished 
the  basis  of  the  celebrated  Almanach  de  Gotha, 
under  which  title  it  is  at  present  continued.  These 
works  include  Bode's  Von  dem  neuen,  Zwisclien  Mars 
und  Jupiter,  entdeckten,  &c.,  Berlin,  1802 ;  Erlauter- 
ung  der  Sternkunde  und  der  Dazugelwrigen  Wissen- 
scliaften,  2  vols.,  with  eleven  copperplate  engravings, 
Berlin,  1808;  Doppelmayr's  Atlas  Novus  Cwlestis, 
Nuremburg,  1742,  folio;  Historische  Nacliricht  von 
Number gisclien  Mathematisclien  und  Kunstlern,  Nu 
remberg,  1730,  folio;  Encke's  Astronomisclie  Beo- 
baclitungen  aus  der  Konigliclien  Sternwarte  zu  Ber 
lin,  Berlin,  1840,  folio;  Huygens's  KoafLoe^pog  sive  de 
Terris  celestibus  earumque  ornatu  conjecture,  Hague, 
1698  ;  Kliiber's  Sternwarte  zu  Manheim,  Manheim, 
1811,  quarto;  Kliigel's  Dioptrick,  Leipsic,  1778; 
Lambert's  Zusatze  zu  den  Logarithmischen  und  Trig- 
onometrischen  Tabellen,  Berlin,  1770 ;  and  Leibnitz's 
Dissertatio  de  Arte  Gombinatoria,  Leipsig,  1666. 

Among  the  more  recent  publications  are  most  of 
the  writings  of  La  Place,  including  an  excellent  copy 
of  the  Traite  de  Mecanique  Celeste,  in  4  vols.,  4to., 


24  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Paris,  1825,  with  a  supplement,  published  in  1827,  and 
a  translation  by  Bowditch  ;  Lacroix's  Works,  in  Y 
vols.,  published  in  1816  ;  Garnier's  Geometric  Ana- 
litique,  1831 ;  Lecons  de  Calcul  Integral,  1812  ; 
IRetiproques  de  la  G-eometrie,  1810  ;  Discussion  des 
Ratines  des  Equations  determines  du  Premier 
Degre  a  Plusieurs  Inconnues,  et  Eliminations  entre 
deux  Equations  de  Degres  quelconques  a  deux 
inconnues,  Paris,  1813 ;  Biot's  Traite  de  Physique, 
Experimentale  et  Mathematique,  4  tomes,  Paris,  1816; 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  other  works  of  this 
author;  Delambre's  Works,  including  his  Histoire 
de  HAstronomie  Antienne,  of  which  Cuvier,  in  a 
discourse  pronounced  over  his  tomb,  says: 

"  Before  him,  the  history  of  astronomy  had  its 
fables,  corresponding  to  the  history  of  the  people 
among  whom  it  was  cultivated.  Superficial  minds, 
so  far  from  stripping  it  of  these  mythological  asso 
ciations,  had  embarrassed  it  still  more  by  the  most 
fantastic  conceptions.  Delambre  appeared,  and 
without  effort  he  dissipated  the  clouds  that  envel 
oped  it.  Reading  all  languages,  and  familiar  with 
the  foundations  of  all  authority,  he  presented  each 
fact  as  it  existed  disembarrassed  of  all  conjecture 
and  imagination.  With  a  simplicity  the  most  orig 
inal,  he  has  made  each  person  recount  his  own  dis 
coveries.  It  is  they  who  speak,  in  their  own  proper 


DR.  ANDERSON'S  COLLECTION.  25 

language.  Each  of  their  ideas  is  presented  to  the 
reader  as  their  own,  clothed  in  the  same  images, 
surrounded  by  the  same  assemblage  of  preparatory 
ideas  and  accessories,  and  in  this  manner  we  are 
enabled  to  trace  in  each  age  its  particular  develop 
ment,  to  study  in  each  generation  the  formation  of 
new  ideas,  and  thus  to  form  in  our  own  minds  a  view 
of  the  development  of  this  admirable  science,  the  first 
creation  of  the  genius  of  man,  and  that  which  he  has 
been  enabled  to  carry  to  the  greatest  perfection." 

The  collection  is  rich  in  mathematical  and  other 
works  of  the  XVIth  century,  among  which  are  Ap- 
pianus's  Cosmographia,  Cologne,  1574,  4to.;  Archime- 
dis,  Philosoplii  ac  Geometri,  opera  quce  extant  om- 
nia,  edited  by  Thomas  Gechauff,  Basle,  1544,  folio  ; 
Aristotle's  Efkica,  Frankfort,  1596  ;  Diogenes  De 
Vitis,  Dogm.  et  Apoplitli.  Clarorum  Pkilosoplio- 
rum,  libri  X.,  Greece  et  Latine,  1593;  Eusebius's 
JEcclesiastica  Historia,  Amsterdam,  1595,  folio,  3 

vols. ;  RvKAeidov  OTOi%ei(i)v  (3i(3kia  KK  TCJV   Qe&vog  avvovoi&v  J 

Adjecta  Prcefatiuncula  in  qua  de  Disciplinis  Matli- 
ematicis  non  niliil,  Basle,  1533,  folio  ;  the  works  of 
Pliny  the  younger,  1506,  folio;  Baptista  Porta's  De 
Hefractione  Optices,  Naples,  1593,  4to. ;  and  Schlarn- 
merdorf's  jReconditce  Philosoplice  Monumenta,  2 
vols.  folio,  1599,  and  a  very  curious  work  in  manu 
script  on  G-eomancy,  Chiromancy,  <fec. 


26  LIBEAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

There  is  a  fine  collection  of  Italian  authors,  includ 
ing  several  excellent  editions  of  the  works  of  the 
poets ;  the  transactions  of  various  academies ;  a 
number  of  copies  of  the  several  editions  of  Homer, 
Herodotus,  Virgil,  Seneca,  and  other  Greek  and 
Latin  authors ;  and  an  excellent  collection  of  authors 
upon  the  game  of  Chess,  embracing  about  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  volumes. 


PROF.  CHARLES  ANTHOFS  LIBRARY. 


THIS  library,  which  contains  about  nine  thousand 
volumes,  is  almost  exclusively  devoted  to  classical 
literature,  and  in  its  particular  department  is  not 
surpassed,  if  equalled,  by  any  other  library  in  the 
United  States. 

It  is  intended  for  use,  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the 
term,  and  boasts  no  costly  nor  highly  illuminated 
missals  or  manuscripts,  and  but  a  limited  number  of 
illustrated  works,  although  such  of  the  latter  as 
it  does  contain,  are  extremely  rare  and  valuable, 
namely,  the  Augusteum  of  Bekker,  with  engravings 
of  the  exquisite  works  of  art  in  the  Dresden  collec 
tion  ;  the  splendidly  illustrated  Antichita  (PErcolana 
in  nine  folio  volumes ;  Banier's  Ovid  in  two  volumes, 
with  fine  illustrations  of  the  Holland  school;  the 
works  of  Visconti,  including  his  Iconograpliia  Grceca 
et  Romana,  as  well  as  engravings  of  all  the  treasures 
in  the  Museo  Pio-  Clementina  and  Mu-seo  Chiaramonti, 
the  Monumenti  Inediti  of  Winckelmann ;  Beger's 


28  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Thesaurus  Qemmarum,  folio ;  Fabretti's  Columna 
Trajana;  tlie  Koman  Terence  (1767),  with  plates  of 
ancient  masks,  &c.,  2  vols.,  folio ;  and  the  Thesaurus 
Antiqidtatum  Grwcarum  et  JBomanarum  of  Grsevius 
and  Gronovius,  in  thirty-seven  volumes,  folio ;  with  a 
fine  set  of  the  A.ntiguite  Expliquee  of  Montfaucon, 
in  fifteen  volumes. 

There  are  also  a  few  Aldines,  among  which  may 
be  mentioned  that  of  Aristotle,  a  beautiful  quarto 
edition  in  five  volumes.  It  was  presented  to  its 
possessor  by  the  late  Bishop  Wainwright,  and  is 
probably  the  only  set  in  this  country.  Among  the 
Elzevirs  are  Livy,  Vitruvius,  Plautus  and  Curt-ins ; 
and  from  the  same  press  a  curious  work  in  modern 
Greek,  containing  the  confession  of  faith,  catechism, 
liturgy  and  canons  of  the  Church  of  Holland,  printed 
in  quarto  in  1638.  A  very  rare  copy  maybe  here 
noticed  of  the  Epistles  of  Phalaris,  printed  at 
Yicenza  in  1475,  the  type  of  which  bears  a  very 
marked  resemblance  to  manuscript. 

But  the  chief  recommendation  of  the  library  is  its 
rich  collection  of  classical  authors  and  works  bearing 
on  the  classics.  Among  the  complete  collections  are 
those  of  Lemaire,  in  142  volumes,  8vo.,  with  the 
Delphin  (Valpy's)  in  169  volumes,  8vo.,  together 
with  those  of  Maittaire  and  Wetstein.  The  Lemaire 
is  rendered  more  complete  than  it  is  usually  found, 


PROFESSOE    ANTHON's    COLLECTION.  29 

by  the  addition  of  Lucretius.  It  would  appear  that 
the  editor,  in  a  loyal  mood,  resolved  to  dedicate  his 
work  to  Louis  XVIII.,  and  accordingly  laid  a  list 
of  the  authors  to  be  incorporated  before  the  mon 
arch  for  his  approval.  The  French  king,  doubtless 
regarding  the  poem  of  Lucretius  on  the  "  Nature 
of  Things  "  as  highly  impious,  caused  the  name  to  be 
struck  from  the  list,  by  which  means  he  essentially 
marred  the  original  plan  of  the  work.  When,  how 
ever,  the  Bourbon  star,  after  a  lapse  of  twelve  years, 
had  again  sunk  below  the  political  horizon,  the  pro 
scribed  Lucretius  was  added  to  the  set,  by  the  son 
of  the  editor,  and,  although  decidedly  inferior  to 
the  other  volumes  in  execution,  has  nevertheless  the 
merit  of  making  the  set  complete.  The  Delphin 
edition  of  the  Latin  classics  is  well  known  for  the 
caustic  notice  it  received  at  the  hands  of  Bishop 
Blomfield,  but  is  still  exceedingly  useful  for  its 
large  body  of  notes ;  and  when  arranged,  as  in  the 
present  instance,  in  handsome  uniform  bindings, 
makes  a  fine  display.  Maittaire's  series,  which  is 
rarely  found  complete,  is  celebrated  for  its  neat 
typography  and  excellent  indices ;  while  Wetstein's 
collection,  consisting  of  beautiful  little  ISmos.  in 
vellum,  are  the  very  beau  ideal  of  pocket  editions. 
In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  the  CoUectio 
Poetarum  Latinorum,  in  6  vols.,  4to.,  containing  the 


30  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Christian  as  well  as  the  Heathen  poets;  and  the 
Poetce  Greed  Veteres,  4  vols.  (in  2),  folio,  presenting 
a  complete  body  of  all  the  Greek  poets,  from  Homer 
to  Tzetzes. 

The  individual  works  of  classic  authors  are  numer 
ous  and  valuable.  Among  these  are  no  less  than 
forty  editions  of  Homer,  and  subsidiary  works  having 
a  bearing  upon  his  poems,  in  which  those  of  Heyne, 
Wolf  and  Yilloison  stand  prominent.  Spondanus 
(Jean  de  Sponde)  is  likewise  recognized  as  an  old 
acquaintance.  The  name  of  this  familiar  commenta 
tor  still  lives  in  Bentley's  well  known  critique  upon 
Pope's  translation  of  Homer.  It  is  a  remarkable 
circumstance,  that  the  two  modern  poets  who  have 
presented  Homer  to  the  mere  English  reader  in  the 
most  attractive  garniture,  should  have  known  almost 
next  to  nothing  of  the  Greek  language.  Pope's  in 
debtedness  to  Madame  Dacier's  French  translation 
and  the  notes  of  Spondanus,  is  well  known,  nor  was 
Cowper  under  less  obligation  to  Clarke's  Latin 
version,  to  which  he  has  shown  so  strong  an  attach 
ment  as  to  have  followed  it  in  a  mistake  of  siti  for 
situ,  in  his  "  regions  dire  of  thirst  and  woe,"  a  blun 
der  from  which  a  very  little  knowledge  of  the  origi 
nal  Greek  would  have  saved  him.  Pope's  translation 
proved  a  successful  venture  to  himself,  although  less 
so  to  his  publisher.  He  began  the  translation  in  his 


PKOFESSOK  ANTHON'S  COLLECTION.  31 

twenty-fifth  year,  and  terminated  it  in  his  thirtieth. 
For  his  labor,  he  received  of  Lintott  five  thousand 
three  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  and  four  shillings 
- — no  inconsiderable  sum  for  the  work  of  a  distin 
guished  author  at  the  present  day,  but  an  enormous 
one  in  the  time  of  Pope,  But  the  Homer  in  this 
collection,  as  far  as  "  typographical  luxury"  goes,  is 
that  printed  by  the  celebrated  Bodoni,  at  Parma,  in 
1808,  in  three  volumes,  imperial  folio.  For  beauty  of 
type,  breadth  of  margin,  and  all  the  other  require 
ments  of  the  Dibdin  school,  it  stands  unrivalled, 
and  the  bibliomaniac  might  feel,  on  turning  over  its 
pages,  a  kind  of  fascination,  which  would  lead  to 
some  confusion  respecting  the  rights  of  ownership, 
if  the  work  were  not  too  large  and  heavy  to  carry 
off.  Of  this  edition  only  thirty  copies,  it  is  said, 
were  ever  printed.  The  present  one  was  purchased 
in  Paris  at  a  sale  of  the  effects  of  a  deceased  Rus 
sian  nobleman,  and  was  presented  to  Professor  An- 
thon  by  a  former  pupil,  Mr.  L.  Curtis,  of  this  city. 
The  edition  is  dedicated  to  Napoleon  I. 

jEschylus  presents  a  very  imposing  appearance  in 
upward  of  thirty-six  separate  editions,  ranging  from 
the  quartos  of  Butler  and  De  Pauw,  against  whom 
Harles  inveighs  in  no  measured  terms  (and  whose 
namesake,  by  the  bye,  bestowed  the  classical  appel 
lation  of  Pavonia  on  a  portion  of  the  neighboring 


32  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

state  of  New  Jersey),  down  to  the  octavos  of 
Wellauer,  Scholefield,  Dindorf,  Blomfield,  Hermann, 
and  a  host  of  other  " viri  immortales"  Byron,  in 
reply  to  some  remarks  of  Jeffreys,  says :  "  Of  the 
Prometheus  of  ^Eschylus  I  was  passionately  fond  as 
a  boy ;  it  was  one  of  the  Greek  plays  we  read  thrice 
a  year  at  Harrow ;  indeed  that  and  the  Medea  were 
the  only  ones,  except  the  seven  against  Thebes, 
which  ever  much  pleased  me."  It  can  easily  be 
imagined  how  the  proud,  solitary,  and  resolute 
spirit  of  Prometheus,  even  more  than  the  imagery 
and  diction  of  the  Greek  poet,  harmonized  with 
the  unbridled  and  haughty  temperament  of  the 
author  of  Cain,  The  Deformed  Transformed,  and 
Manfred. 

There  are  upward  of  forty  editions  of  Sophocles, 
among  which  is  the  excellent  one  in  two  quarto 
volumes  by  Brunck.  Brunck  is  remarkable  among 
all  the  critics  of  classical  literature  for  his  slashing 
style.  He  maintained  the  theory  that  the  numerous 
instances  of  negligent  diction  which  he  imagined 
he  discovered  in  the  writings  of  the  Greek  poets, 
were  exclusively  due  to  the  carelessness  of  copyists, 
and  in  accordance  with  this  view  he  corrected,  re 
arranged,  and  rejected  whole  verses,  sometimes,  it 
must  be  admitted,  with  happy  results,  but  more 
frequently  with  a  recklessness  at  which  an  ordinary 


PROFESSOR  ANTHON'S  COLLECTION.  33 

critic  would  stand  aghast.  His  library  is  said  to 
have  exhibited  manifest  indications  of  this  singular 
"  cacoetlie-s  corrigendi"  in  the  shape  of  numberless 
volumes  filled  with  marginal  emendations ;  and  yet, 
notwithstanding  all  his  faults,  he  is  a  most  valuable 
guide  among  the  mazes  of  classical  literature.  It 
happened,  singularly  enough,  that  when  the  French 
Revolution  had  deprived  him  of  his  entire  property, 
and  reduced  him  to  such  straits  that  he  was  fain  to 
dispose  of  his  library  in  order  to  procure  the  means 
of  subsistence,  Greek  literature  became  distasteful 
to  him,  and  he  transferred  all  his  regards  to  Latin 
letters. 

After  Sophocles,  is  an  equally  numerous  array  of 
editions  of  Euripides,  among  which  are  those  of 
Porson,  Matthiae,  Valckenaer,  Elmsley,  Markland, 
Hermann,  and  a  large  number  of  others,  including 
that  of  Joshua  Barnes,  the  Professor  of  Greek  at 
Cambridge,  who,  Bentley  affirms,  knew  about  as 
much  Greek  as  "  an  Athenian  blacksmith,"  and  who 
made  himself  ridiculous  by  publishing  the  so-called 
Epistles  of  Euripides  as  an  integral  portion  of  the 
tragedian's  works.  He  is  the  same  Joshua  Barnes 
who,  having  wedded  a  widow  with  a  handsome 
jointure,  induced  her  to  spend  a  large  share  of  it 
in  his  expensive  edition  of  Homer,  overcoming  her 
scruples  as  to  the  appropriation  of  the  money  to 
5 


34  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

this  purpose  by  persuading  her  that  the  authorship 
of  the  Iliad  was  due  to  King  Solomon. 

Aristophanes  is  the  last  Greek  dramatist  whom 
space  will  permit  being  noticed.  The  editions  of 
this  writer  by  Kuster,  Brunck,  Dindorf,  Mitchell 
and  Hemsterhusius,  form  but  a  small  part  of  those 
in  the  collection.  This  last-mentioned  editor  is  well 
known  as  the  founder  of  the  most  distinguished  sect 
of  continental  scholars  in  his  day,  and  was  selected 
by  the  learned  in  Holland  to  publish  a  new  edition 
of  the  Onomasticon  of  Julius  Pollux,  which  ap 
peared  in  two  folio  volumes,  at  Amsterdam,  in  1706, 
when  he  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age.  It  is  said 
that  he  was  so  deeply  mortified  upon  the  receipt  of 
a  letter  from  Bentley  pointing  out  the  numerous 
errors  into  which  he  had  fallen,  that  he  could  not 
persuade  himself  to  open  a  Greek  book  for  two 
months  afterward. 

The  Aldine  edition  of  Aristotle  has  already  been 
alluded  to.  The  other  editions  of  the  Stagyrite,  in 
the  collection,  either  of  his  entire  works  or  of  sepa 
rate  portions,  embrace  all  the  most  valuable  down  to 
the  present  day.  Indeed,  it  is  the  peculiar  feature 
of  this  library  that  it  contains,  in  the  case  of  every 
ancient  writer,  the  most  recent  as  well  as  the  early 
editions  of  his  works.  Thus,  the  fine  Greek  An 
thology  of  Jacobs,  and  the  superb  quarto  edition, 


PROFESSOR  ANTHON'S  COLLECTION.  35 

5  vols.,  of  De  Bosch,  with  the  metrical  version  of 
Grotius,  are  placed  side  by  side  with  the  recent  one 
of  Hecker ;  and  again,  the  sumptuous  folio  edition 
of  Herodotus,  by  Wesseling,  stands  in  close  proximity 
with  the  excellent  and  recent  publications  of  Baehr 
and  Kenrick ;  the  Lucretius  of  Wakefield,  with  the 
far  superior  one  of  Lachman ;  the  Plautus  of  Lambi- 
nus  and  Taubman,  with  those  of  Weise  and  Bitschl ; 
the  Pliny  of  Hardouin,  with  the  very  recent  one  of 
Sillig ;  the  folio  Horace  of  Henri  Pierre,  containing 
the  annotations  of  forty  commentators,  with  the 
sumptuously  illustrated  edition  of  Dean  Milman; 
the  beautiful  Plutarch  of  Henry  Stephens,  13  vols., 
8vo.,  with  those  of  Reiske,  Hutten  and  Wytten- 
bach;  and  the  Pindar  of  old  Benedict,  with  the 
superb  one  in  3  vols.,  4to.,  of  Boeckh. 

It  may  be  proper  here  to  notice  the  splendid 
edition  of  Vitruvius,  by  Stratico,  in  five  imperial 
quarto  volumes;  Livy,  by  Drakenborch,  in  eight 
quarto  volumes;  a  beautiful  large-paper  copy  of 
Homer,  in  five  volumes,  8vo. ;  a  fine  quarto  edi 
tion  of  Lucan,  by  Bentley,  with  the  autograph  of 
Cumberland ;  Aratus,  by  Ottley,  with  curious  illus 
trations  ;  Plato,  by  Bekker,  and  Ast,  and  Stallbaum, 
and  Heindorf,  and  Wyttenbach ;  Apuleius,  in  three 
noble  quartos,  by  Oudendorp ;  Ovid,  by  Burmann ; 
Cicero,  by  Olivet,  and  Ernesti,  and  Orelli,  12  vols., 


36  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

royal  8vo. ;  Virgil,  in  three  folio  volumes,  by  Father 
La  Cerda,  of  the  Order  of  the  Jesuits,  and  by  Heyne 
and  Wagner — the  last  in  9  vols.,  8vo.,  most  richly 
and  beautifully  illustrated;  Dionysius  of  Halicar- 
nassus,  by  Hudson,  2  vols.,  folio,  and  by  Reiske, 
6  vols.,  8vo. ;  and  Terence,  by  Bentley  and  Wes- 
terhovius. 

Among  the  works  bearing  on  Cicero,  there  is  one 
peculiarly  deserving  of  mention,  and  of  which  we 
do  not  remember  to  have  anywhere  else  seen  a  copy. 
The  title  is  a  strange  one — Cicero  de  Vita  sua ;  or 
in  other  words,  an  autobiography  of  the  Roman 
orator  !  It  is  the  production  of  a  Leyden  scholar, 
and  very  cleverly  done,  giving  all  the  events  of  the 
orator's  life  in  a  continuous  narrative,  the  facts 
recorded  being  all  taken  from  Cicero's  OWTII  writings, 
and  the-  very  language  itself  being  his.  The  title  of 
the  work,  therefore,  is  by  no  means  a  misnomer,  as 
one  would  at  first  suppose,  but  the  Roman  is  really 
made  to  tell  his  own  story. 

In  the  preceding  sketch  are  enumerated  but  a  very 
small  portion  of  the  valuable  editions  comprised  in 
this  extensive  collection — valuable  not  so  much  on 
account  of  mere  rarity,  as  for  the  practical  benefit 
with  which  they  are  fraught  to  the  scholar.  The 
associations,  too,  connected  with  many  of  them,  are 
pleasing  enough.  The  Phalaris,  for  instance,  brings 


PROFESSOR    ANTHO^'S    COLLECTION.  37 

to  remembrance  the  ever-memorable  contest  between 
Bentley  and  Boyle,  in  which  the  former  so  signally 
defeated  the  wits  of  Christ  Church,  and  among  them 
Aldrich  and  Atterbury,  and  gave  to  the  world  his 
immortal  Dissertation,  from  which  Porson,  by  his 
own  confession,  derived  his  first  notions  of  true 
philology. 

Along  with  Bentley's  Dissertation,  moreover,  we 
have  here  the  Latin  version  of  the  same,  by  Lennep, 
a  very  able  performance,  but  containing  the  laugha 
ble  blunder  (one  of  the  best,  perhaps,  of  modern 
classic  jokes)  into  which  the  Holland  scholar  falls, 
from  his  not  understanding  Bentley's  language, 
when  the  latter,  in  his  plain  and  rather  homely 
way,  remarks,  that  if  the  Agrigentines  had  met 
with  the  so-called  Letters  of  Phalaris,  "  they  had 
certainly  gone  to  pot."  Lennep's  translation  of  this 
passage  is  as  follows :  "8i  enim  ea-s  invenissent  Agri- 
gentini,  sine  dubio  tergendis  natilnis  inserviissent? 

The  Strabo  of  Falconer  recalls  the  famous  contro 
versy  waged  between  the  University  of  Oxford  and 
the  Edinljurgli  Review,  in  which  the  Oxford  men 
injured  themselves  by  espousing  the  cause  of  an 
editor  so  ill-qualified  for  his  task ;  while  the  Scotch 
reviewers  obtained  credit  for  scholarship  which  they 
did  not  possess,  the  articles  in  their  periodical  being 
from  the  pen  of  an  English  writer. 


38  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

The  folio  Seneca  of  Lipsius,  said  to  have  been 
printed  with  silver  types,  reminds  the  reader  of 
the  peculiarities  of  this  singular  old  scholar,  who, 
among  other  eccentricities,  was  remarkable  for  his 
attachment  to  dogs,  three  of  which,  called  by  him 
respectively  Saphir,  Mopsulus  and  Mopsus,  were  his 
inseparable  companions.  Of  these,  Saphir,  accord 
ing  to  his  master's  account,  resembled  man  in  a  fond 
ness  for  wine,  not  very  common  among  the  canine 
race,  and  in  being  subject  to  attacks  of  gout !  In 
somewhat  of  the  same  spirit  in  which  Lipsius  asso 
ciated  the  qualities  of  his  dumb  favorite  with  those 
of  man,  did  Toup,  the  celebrated  editor  of  Longinus, 
protect  all  creatures  in  his  control  from  destruction. 
He  never  allowed  his  own  cattle  to  be  brought  to 
the  shambles,  but  permitted  them  to  die  of  old  age, 
and  interdicted  the  lads  of  his  parish  from  caging 
young  birds,  or  interfering  in  any  way  with  the 
liberty  of  animals. 

The  collection  contains  a  large  number  of  valuable 
works  subsidiary  to  the  classics,  among  which  are 
the  Commentary  of  Eustathius  on  Homer,  Home, 
1542,  4  vols.,  folio;  the  same  work  from  the  Leipsic 
Press,  7  vols.,  4to. ;  the  Glossarium  of  Du  Gauge,  6 
vols.,  4to. ;  the  Lexicon  Epigrapliicum  Morcellianum, 
3  vols.,  folio;  the  splendid  Corpus  Inscriptionum 
Grcecarum  of  Boeckh,  in  four  folio  volumes;  the 


PKOFESSOK  ANTHON'S  COLLECTION.  39 

folio  work  of  Zoega  on  Obelisks ;  the  Historical  Me 
moirs  of  the  Academy  of  Berlin  ;  the  Geography  of 
the  Ancients,  by  Gossellin,  in  four  quarto  volumes ; 
the  Linguistic  works  of  Bopp ;  the  Sanscrit  Diction 
ary  of  Wilson ;  the  Works  of  Vossius,  in  six  folio 
volumes;  the  Bibliotheca  Grceca  of  Fabricius,  in 
sixteen  quarto  volumes;  the  German  JEsthetical 
and  Archaeological  works  of  Boettiger,  Creuzer, 
Mueller,  Schlegel,  &c. ;  the  Ethnological  works  of 
Pri chard,  Pictet,  Movers  (History  of  Phoenicia), 
Rawlinson  (Cuneiform  Inscription's),  and  Lassen, 
especially  the  celebrated  work  of  the  last  men 
tioned  scholar  on  the  Antiquities  of  India;  the 
Corpus  Juris  Civilis,  in  two  folio  volumes;  the 
works  of  Vinnius,  Pothier  and  Savigny  on  Roman 
law;  the  Critical  and  Historical  Writings  of  Nie- 
buhr;  the  various  works  of  Humboldt,  and  the 
Numismatological  works  of  Rasche,  Eckhel,  Acker- 
man  and  Grasse,  the  last  of  which  contains  beautiful 
fac-similes  of  ancient  coins,  by  a  new  process,  en 
tirely  superseding  the  necessity  for  a  collection. 

The  grammatical  works  and  lexicons  are  exceed 
ingly  numerous,  not  only  in  Greek  and  Latin,  but 
in  many  other  languages,  all  of  which  are  useful, 
and  many  rare  and  valuable.  Among  these  are  the 
lexicon  of  Zonaras,  by  Titmann,  three  volumes, 
quarto ;  that  of  Suidas,  by  Gaisford,  three  volumes, 


40  LIBRAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

folio;  the  same,  by  Kuster,  three  volumes,  folio; 
the  Thesaurus  of  Stephens,  by  Hase,  Paris  edition ; 
the  Latin  Lexicon  of  Forcellini,  two  volumes,  quarto ; 
together  with  those  of  Scheller,  Freund,  Klotz,  cfec. ; 
Graff's  Dictionary  of  the  Old  High-German,  six  vol 
umes,  quarto ;  and  the  celebrated  Dictionary  of  the 
German  language,  by  the  Brothers  Grimm;  while 
among  the  grammatical  works  may  be  particularly 
mentioned,  the  edition  of  the  Latin  Grammarians, 
by  Putsch,  in  two  quarto  volumes ;  the  Phrynichus, 
^Paralipomena,  and  Greek  Pathology,  of  Lobeck; 
Gaisford's  Hepliaestion,  and  Bekker's  Anecdota 
Grceca.  This  last  work  is  the  one  concerning 
which  Dr.  Adam  Clark  makes  so  singular  a  mistake 
in  his  Bibliographical  Dictionary,  where  he  remarks 
that  this  must  be  a  very  agreeable  book,  inasmuch 
as  "  anecdote  is  always  so  interesting."  It  hap 
pens,  however,  that  the  "  anecdotes  "  in  this  work 
of  Bekker's  consist  of  hitherto  unpublished  (the 
primitive  meaning  of  the  term  anecdote)  disserta 
tions  on  adverbs  and  conjunctions,  lexicons,  glossa 
ries,  and  the  like,  all  of  which  are,  doubtless,  ex 
ceedingly  "  interesting  "  to  the  general  reader ! 

The  books  of  travels,  which  are  quite  numeroiis, 
all  have  a  relation  to  the  land  of  classical  antiquity. 
Of  these  are  the  researches  of  Chandler,  Pococke, 
Clarke,  Fellows,  Leake,  Layard,  Ainsworth,  and 


PKOFESSOE  ANTHON'S  COLLECTION.  41 


many  of  the  rare  works  of  D'Anville.  The  history 
of  ancient  and  modern  literature  is  well  represented 
by  the  excellent  works  of  Schoell,  thirteen  volumes, 
octavo;  Baehr,  four  volumes,  octavo;  Bernhardy, 
two  volumes,  octavo ;  Grasse,  ten  volumes,  octavo ; 
and  the  Fasti  Hellenici  and  Romani  of  Clinton, 
four  volumes,  quarto. 

The  department  of  reviews  contains  the  latest 
philological  periodicals  of  Germany,  among  which 
is  the  Jalirbucher  fur  Pliilologie,  in  nearly  one  hun 
dred  volumes,  beside  full  and  elegantly  bound  sets 
of  the  London  Quarterly  and  Edinburgh  Reviews. 
In  biography,  among  a  number  of  others,  the  Bio- 
grapJiie  Universelle  stands  the  most  prominent. 
Nor  has  theology  been  altogether  neglected.  There 
are  editions  of  the  Scriptures  in  Hebrew,  by  Mon- 
tanus,  Hahn,  Michaelis,  and  others,  the  Latin  Vul 
gate,  the  classical  version  of  Castalio,  an  Arabic 
version  from  the  Chelsea  press,  and,  side  by  side 
with  these,  the  Septuagint,  by  Boss,  Breitinger, 
and  Van  Ess.  The  editions  of  the  New  Testament 
are  very  numerous,  among  which  may  be  mentioned 
those  of  Robert  Stephens,  Mills,  Casaubon,  Gries- 
bach,  and  Alford.  There  is  also  a  beautiful  copy 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Breviary,  in  four  parts, 
adapted  to  each  of  the  four  seasons  of  the  year,  en 
riched  with  the  fine  old  Latin  hymns.  A  very 
6 


42  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

handsome  quarto  edition  of  the  Koran,  terminates 
this  notice  of  the  theological  collection. 

The  possessor  of  this  rich  classical  collection  is 
well  known  as  the  Jay  Professor  of  Greek,  in 
Columbia  College,  New  York,  but  has  obtained  a 
still  more  extended  reputation  by  means  of  his  val 
uable  series  of  classical  works,  which  are  in  the 
hands  of  students  in  every  part  of  the  Union.  The 
public  are  doubtless  anxious  to  learn  something  of 
the  tools  of  trade,  by  means  of  which  these  excel 
lent  works  have  been  fabricated,  and  in  this  connec 
tion  the  present  library  possesses  a  value  to  the 
classical  student  above  that  of  any  other  which  it  is 
the  province  of  this  volume  to  describe. 

Of  all  the  treasures  it  contains,  however,  the  Pro 
fessor  ought  to  attach  the  highest  value  to  a  Latin 
"Epistola  Critica^  addressed  to  him  by  his  friend 
and  correspondent,  Dr.  Wagner,  of  Dresden,  the 
celebrated  editor  of  Virgil,  discussing  various  points 
connected  with  the  text  of  that  poet.  It  appeared 
a  few  months  ago  in  the  "  Philologus,"  a  German 
periodical  published  at  Gottingen,  but  has  since 
been  printed  in  octavo  form.  From  its  tone,  and 
the  distinguished  erudition  of  the  editor,  it  may  be 
regarded  as  the  highest  compliment  ever  paid  to  an 
American  scholar. 


GEORGE  BANCROFT'S  LIBRARY. 


ME.  BANCROFT'S  Library  is  such  a  collection  as 
might  be  expected  from  one  who  lias  occupied  him 
self  with  distinction  in  so  many  different  depart 
ments  of  literary  labor.  Alternately  a  teacher,  a 
politician,  a  statesman,  a  diplomatist,  a  metaphysi 
cian,  an  historian,  and  a  lover  of  letters,  he  has  sur 
rounded  himself  with  a  library  which  reflects  the 
tastes  and  accomplishments  indicated  by  such  a 
diversity  of  talent.  It  contains  about  twelve  thou 
sand  volumes,  and  is  scattered  through  various 
apartments  of  his  residence  in  Twenty-first-street. 
It  abounds  in  the  leading  works  on  the  history  of 
philosophy,  both  ancient  and  modern,  in  the  lan 
guages  in  which  they  were  originally  published,  a 
very  extensive  collection  of  treatises  on  philosophy, 
from  Plato  to  the  present  time,  and  is  particularly 
full  in  the  works  of  the  German  and  French 
philosophers. 

In  German  philosophy,  are  Leibnitz's  Complete 
Works,  in  the  quarto  edition  of  Dutens,  as  well  as 


44  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

in  that  of  Erdman,  the  new  edition  of  A.  Foucher  de 
Careil,  as  far  as  published,  and  a  complete  collec 
tion  of  all  the  minor  works  of  Leibnitz  that  have 
been  separately  printed.  The  complete  works  of 
Jacob  Boehmen;  of  Hamann;  of  Spinoza,  in  the 
edition  of  Paulus ;  of  Lessing ;  of  Herder,  Kant, 
Jacobi,  Novalis,  the  elder  Fichte,  Schelling,  Hegel, 
Schleiermacher,  Herbart,  Ancillon,  and  all  the  pub 
lished  works  of  Schoppenhauer,  Kuno  Fischer, 
Henry  Ritter,  and  Trendelenburg.  In  this  depart 
ment  are  likewise  to  be  found  the  principal  separate 
works  of  Lambert,  Creuzer,  Feuerbach,  Erdman, 
Bouterwek,  Michelet,  Carriere,  Noack,  Fortlage, 
Weisse,  and  Mohl,  and  many  others,  such  as  Bauer 
on  the  Trinity,  C.  Bunsen's  God  in  History,  Dorner 
on  the  Person  of  Christ,  Mliller  on  Sin,  Jasche  on 
Pantheism,  Haller's  Restoration  of  Political  Science, 
and  nearly  every  published  work  of  J.  H.  Fichte. 

Among  the  works  of  the  French  philosophers,  are 
those  of  Descartes,  Condorcet,  Malebranche,  Cousin, 
Diderot,  Bonald,  Abelard,  Constant,  Jouifroy,  Jour- 
dain,  Gratry,  J.  De  Maistre,  Bonnet,  Bonstetten, 
Blanqui-Aine,  Brillat-Savarin,  Arnould,  D'Agues- 
seau,  Bastiat,  Bossuet,  Say,  Damiron,  Ballanche, 
Maine  De  Biran,  Turgot,  Cabet,  Proudhon,  D'Alem- 
bert,  Cabanis,  Caro,  Charron,  Laurent,  Maret,  Wad- 
dington,  J.  Bartholemy  Saint-Hilaire,  Remusat,  Re- 


ME.  BANCROFT'S  COLLECTION.  45 

nouvier,  and  La  Boulaye.  In  this  class  are  Mat 
ters' s  Traite  de  Legislation;  Benjamin  Constant's 
Religion  Consideree  dans  sa  Source,  ses  Formes, 
et  ses  Developpements  ;  all  of  Lerminier's  works; 
Comte's  Cours  de  Pliilosophie  Positive  ;  the  complete 
works  of  Condillac ;  of  Destutt  De  Tracy ;  of  Pas 
cal;  and  of  Montesquieu;  the  last  of  whom  is  de 
servedly  a  great  favorite  with  Mr.  Bancroft. 

The  collection  also  contains  nearly  every  one  of 
the  numerous  works  recently  published  in  France 
on  the  condition  of  the  laboring  classes :  Reybaud's 
Etudes  sur  les  Reformateurs  ou  Socialistes  Modern, 
as  St.  Simon,  Fourier,  Robert  Owen ;  Alfred  Mau- 
ry's  Histoire  des  Religions  de  la  Grece  Antique; 
Remusat's  Bacon  sa  Vie,  son  Temps,  et  sa  Influence 
jusqu^a  nos  Jours ;  Laurent's  Etudes  sur  I 'Histoire 
de  la  Humanite ;  and  De  Chastellux's  Felicite  Pub- 
lique,  ou  Considerations  sur  le  Sort  des  Hommes 
dans  les  Differentes  Epoques  de  I  Histoire,  the  first 
edition  of  Amsterdam,  1772,  and  the  second  of 
Paris,  1822,  in  which  the  author  seeks  to  establish, 
by  historical  evidence,  that  the  condition  of  the 
human  race  is  always  improving  by  an  infusion 
of  enlightened  ideas  among  the  masses.  The  work 
exhibits  deep  research,  varied  knowledge,  and  acute 
reasoning.  Its  author  visited  America  with  La 
Fayette,  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  and  wrote 


46  LIBRAEIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

a  work  concerning  America,  which  was  afterward 
published.  He  was  the  originator  of  the  famous 
saying,  that  "  The  object  of  political  institutions  is 
the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number." 

In  English  philosophy,  among  others  are,  Sir 
Thomas  More's  Utopia;  the  complete  works  of 
Bacon,  in  several  editions,  and  among;  them  that  of 

o 

Montagu,  and  the  new  one  of  Spedding ;  the  works 
of  Cudworth,  Dr.  Henry  More,  Archbishop  Leigh- 
ton,  Bishop  Law,  Bishop  Hurd,  Bishop  Butler, 
Bishop  Berkeley;  the  complete  works  of  Hobbes, 
in  Molesworth's  edition ;  of  Locke,  Bolingbroke, 
Hume,  James  Harris,  Reid,  Dugald  Stewart,  Thomas 
Brown,  Jeremy  Bentham,  Coleridge ;  the  principal 
works  of  Andrew  Baxter,  Shaftesbury,  Hutcheson, 
Price,  Hartley,  Abraham  Tucker,  Sir  William  Ham 
ilton,  and  Whewell;  and  among  Americans,  of 
Edwards,  Bellamy,  Hopkins,  Channing,  Tappan, 
Hickox,  Ripley,  H.  B.  Smith,  &c. 

The  collection  of  authors  on  the  History  of  Phi 
losophy,  is  very  complete,  and  probably  without  an 
equal  in  the  United  States.  It  includes  the  works 
of  Cousin,  Damiron,  Ballanche,  Haureau,  J.  Willm, 
Baron  Barchou  De  Penhoen,  Degerando,  Jourdain, 
Janet,  Vacherot,  and  others  among  the  French  writ 
ers.  Of  these  are  Damiron's  History  of  Philosophy 
of  the  XVIIIth  Century;  Haureau's  Philosophic 


ME.    BANCROFTS    COLLECTION.  47 

Scholastique  ;  J.  Willm's  Histoire  de  la  Philosophie 
Allemande  depute  Kant  jusqu?a>  Hegel,  Paris,  1847  ; 
De  Penlioen's  Histoire  de  la  Philosophie  Allemande 
depute  Leibnitz  jusqu-a  Hegel  /  Jourdain's  Philoso 
phic  de  St.  Thomas  d^Aqum  ;  Janet's  Histoire  de  la 
Philosophic  Morale ;  Vacherot's  Histoire  Critique 
de  lEcole  d"1  Alexandrie,  <fec. 

Of  the  German  authors  on  the  history  of  Philos 
ophy,  are  the  works  of  C.  A.  Brandis,  of  Erdmann, 
Heinrich  Bitter,  of  Kuno  Fischer,  of  Rixner,  Schweg- 
ler,  Chalybaus,  Beinhold,  Brucker,  Carl  Ludwig 
Michelet,  Weigelt,  Zeller,  and  others.  Among  these 
are  Erdmann's  Geschichte  der  neuern  Philosophic; 
Heinrich  Bitter's  Geschichte  der  Philosophic  alter 
zeit,  twelve  volumes ;  Bitter's  Die  Christlische  Phi 
losophic  /  Kuno  Fischer's  Geschichte  der  neuern  Phi- 
losophie ;  Chalybaus's  Historische  Entwickelung  der 
Speculative^,  Philosophic  von  Kant  bis  Hegel,  Dres 
den,  1839 ;  Michelet's  Geschichte  der  letzen  Systeme 
der  Philosophic  in  Deutschland  von  Kant  bis  Hegel, 
Berlin,  1837;  Beinhold's  Geschichte  der  alien  oder 
Grieschischen  Philosophic,  Jena,  1854;  Weigelt's 
Geschichte  der  neuern  Philosophic;  Zeller's  Philoso 
phic  der  Griechen  in  Hirer  Geschichtlichen  Entivick*- 
lung  dargestellt ;  Brucker's  Historic  Critical  Philoso 
phic,  quarto,  Leipsic,  17.66,  which  is  characterized 
"by  Guizot  as  "  a  vast  compilation,  the  fruit  of  the 


48  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

most  exact  and  extended  erudition,  in  which  the 
lives  and  the  opinions  of  philosophers  are  portrayed 
with  the  most  exact  detail  and  fidelity." 

In  the  philosophical  department  is  to  be  found 
the  most  complete  apparatus  for  the  study  of  Aris 
totle,  embracing  four  complete  editions  of  his  works 
—including  Edward  Duval's,  the  Prussian  Academy 
and  Oxford  editions,  and  Taylor's  quarto  transla 
tion,  in  ten  volumes,  of  which  but  fifty  copies  were 
printed;  the  best  special  editions  of  his  politics, 
metaphysics,  and  treatise  on  the  soul,  and  the 
writings  of  a  large  number  of  his  commentators, 
among  which  are  the  works  of  Taylor,  Biese  and 
Trendelenburg. 

This  department  contains  a  tolerably  full  collec 
tion  relating  to  Plato,  including  the  latest  and  best 
editions  of  his  works,  as  those  of  Bekker,  Stallbaum, 
Ast,  the  Oxford  edition,  as  well  as  the  works  of 
the  early  and  later  Platonists.  Those  of  St.  Athana- 
sius,  St.  Augustine,  and  St.  Anselin  of  Canterbury, 
the  best  editions  of  Plutarch  and  Epictetus ;  of  Pro- 
clus,  including  Cousin's  edition  and  Taylor's  trans 
lations;  Plotinus,  including  the  Paris  edition  of 
Didot,  Creuzer's  Oxford  edition,  and  the  translation, 
as  far  as  published,  of  Bouillet;  and  Erigena  De 
Divisione  JVaturce,  embracing  all  the  works  of  this 
author  known  to  exist. 


MR.    BANCEOFT8    COLLECTION.  49 

The  list  of  Italian  authors  in  philosophy  includes 
Vico,  Campanella,  Gioberti,  Cesarotti,  Filangieri, 
Beccaria,  Rosmini,  Jordano  Bruno,  Vanini,  and 
Machiavelli,  whose  complete  works,  in  ten  volumes, 
are  here. 

The  collection  contains,  also,  in  different  lan 
guages,  the  leading  works  on  Physiology,  Geology, 
Chemistry,  Astronomy,  and  the  Natural  Sciences. 

The  Historical  Department  embraces  a  copy  of 
every  chef-d^CBUvre^  and  many  rare  works  on  history, 
together  with  books  of  reference  relating  to  every 
important  European  nation,  as  well  as  the  East 
Indies,  by  which  means  it  is  possible,  with  the 
materials  at  hand,  to  investigate  with  some  degree  of 
completeness,  almost  any  historical  question  that 
may  present  itself. 

That  portion  of  this  department  which  relates 
to  American  history,  includes  many  works  of  ex 
ceeding  rarity,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  a 
copy  of  De  Bry  on  America,  with  engravings  of  the 
earliest  impressions ;  a  very  large  collection  of  the 
Jesuit  relations,  including  four  volumes  of  the  very 
rarest ;  a  good  edition  of  Hakluyt,  as  well  as  the 
reprint;  and  Purchas's  Pilgrims.  The  collection  also 
has,  what  is  very  rare,  a  perfect  copy  of  the  orig 
inal  edition  of  Captain  John  Smith's  history,  and 
an  excellent  copy  of  Hwtorm  Canadensis,  or  New 
7 


50  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

France,  by  Creuxius  (Francois  Du  Creux),  a  work 
much  relied  upon  concerning  that  part  of  America 
of  which  it  treats,  and  mainly  based  upon  the  docu 
ments  transmitted  by  the  Jesuits  to  their  Superior 
in  France.  It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  the 
author  of  this  work  never  was  in  Canada,  but  is 
mainly  indebted  for  his  information  to  the  rela 
tions  of  the  Jesuit  fathers.  Creuxius  entered  the 
Society  of  Jesus  at  eighteen  years  of  age,  devoted 
twelve  years  to  the  study  of  belles-lettres,  and 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  apostolic  labors, 
during  which  he  found  time  not  only  to  write  the 
work  in  question,  but  several  others,  among  which 
is  a  life  of  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  wThich  appeared  in 
1663,  and  one  of  John  Francis,  Provincial  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus.  The  first  edition  of  the  History 
of  New  France  appeared  in  1656,  and  a  second  one 
in  1664,  but  two  years  before  his  decease,  which 
occurred  at  Bordeaux  in  1666,  at  the  age  of  seventy 
years. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  early  Jesuits  in  America, 
to  report  to  the  Superior  of  their  Order  in  France  a 
full  account,  not  only  of  matters  pertaining  to  reli 
gion,  but  also  of  all  secular  affairs,  of  which  they 
kept  themselves  well  informed.  Two  of  these  re 
ports  were  annually  made :  one  from  the  upper 
Huron,  or  what  is  now  known  as  Upper  Canada, 


MR.    BANCROFTS    COLLECTION.  51 

which  was  sent  to  the  Superior  residing  at  Quebec ; 
the  other  from  the  Superior  at  Quebec,  which  ac 
companied  the  former,  and  embraced  an  account  of 
whatever  took  place  within  the  district  of  Lower 
Canada.  The  first  of  these  was  made  by  Paul  le 
Jeune  to  the  Superior,  R.  P.  Bartholemy,  and  is 
dated  "  de  millieu  d\m  bois  de  plus  800  lieues 
d'estendue  a  Xebec,  ce  28  d'Aou-st,  1632."  This 
volume  is  so  rare,  that  doubts  were  at  one  time 
entertained  as  to  its  existence.  It  is,  however, 
occasionally  to  be  found,  and  is  in  this  collec 
tion. 

Among  the  Spanish  works  on  American  history 
are  Herrera,  Oviedo,  Barcia,  Munoz,  and  Nava- 
rette.  This  portion  of  the  library  is  large,  and  em 
braces  a  thorough  collection  of  books  on  the  general 
history  of  America,  as  well  as  of  each  individual 
state.  Antony  these  is  a  rare  work  entitled  "  The 

o 

Model  of  the  Government  of  the  Province  of  East 
New  Jersey,  in  America;  and  Encouragements  for 
such  as  Design  to  be  concerned  There"  by  George 
Scott,  Edinburgh,  1685.  This  work  was  reprinted 
by  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society.  In  the  In 
troduction,  Mr.  Whitehead,  the  editor,  remarks,  that 
"  only  four  copies  are  known  to  exist — two  in  Eu 
rope  and  two  in  the  United  States."  In  the  library 
is  also  to  be  found  a  work  of  exceeding  rarity  on 


52  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

the  history  of  New  Sweden,  and  the  early  settle 
ments  on  the  Delaware,  entitled  "  Argonaut  ica  Gus- 
taviana"  Frankfort,  1633.  But  one  other  copy  is 
known  in  the  United  States,  which,  is  in  the  Cam 
bridge  Library.  There  is  likewise  a  curious  and 
scarce  book  on  the  early  history  of  Maryland,  en 
titled,  "A  Character  of  tlie  Province  of  Maryland" 
&c.,  by  George  Alsop,  1 81110.,  London,  1656. 

The  department  of  political  economy  is  quite  full, 
and  embraces  the  works  of  a  large  number  of  the 
most  distinguished  writers  on  this  subject,  in  Ger 
man  and  French,  as  well  as  English. 

There  are  likewise  to  be  found  all  the  leading 
works  on  constitutional  law,  the  United  States 
statutes  at  large,  the  statutes  at  large  of  the  several 
colonies  and  states  so  far  as  they  have  been  printed, 
and  the  Decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States. 

The  library  also  includes  a  large  number  of  works 
illustrative  of  the  history  of  the  arts,  both  in  sculp 
ture  and  painting,  with  collections  of  engravings 
from  many  of  the  principal  galleries  in  Europe, 
being  sufficient  to  give  a  view  of  the  progress  of  art 
through  the  middle  ages  down  to  the  present  time. 
Among  these  are  engravings  of  the  chief  works  of 
art  in  the  gallery  of  the  Palazzo  Pitti  at  Florence, 
of  the  Vatican,  and  of  the  Capitol  at  Rome;  the  Le 


MR.  BANCROFT'S  COLLECTION.  53 

Bran  gallery  of  Flemish  paintings,  Miisee  Frangai-s 
and  Mu-see  Hoyal,  with,  complete  outlines  of  the  pro 
ductions  of  Canova  and  Thorwaldsen. 

But  the  most  remarkable  characteristic  of  Mr. 
Bancroft's  library  is  the  collection  of  manuscripts, 
the  value  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  overestimate. 
That  upon  American  history  is  contained  in  between 
two  and  three  hundred  handsomely  bound  volumes, 
in  which  are  to  be  found  copies  of  most  of  the  im 
portant  unpublished  documents  relating  to  the  his 
tory  of  the  American  colonies,  as  well  as  to  the 
period  of  the  Revolution.  Many  of  these  manu 
scripts  are  copies  of  records  in  the  public  archives 
of  England,  France,  and  Holland,  while  others  are 
taken  from  private  collections,  including  those  of 
the  Due  De  Broglie,  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  Earl 
of  Carlisle,  and  the  Duke  of  Grafton.  These  include 
all  the  negotiations  for  the  purchase  of  troops  in 
Russia,  Germany,  and  Holland,  and  contain  letters 
from  Catherine  of  Russia,  Louis  XVI.  of  France, 
George  III.  of  England,  the  King  of  Spain,  many  of 
the  German  princes,  and  Beaumarchais,  who  proved 
so  important  and  efficient  an  agent  of  the  French 
government,  in  supplying  aid  to  the  colonies  in  this 
eventful  struggle,  none  of  which  have  ever  been 
published.  In  addition  are  numerous  unpublished 
letters  of  historical  importance,  of  Benjamin  Frank- 


54  LIBRAEIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

lin ;  a  large  collection  of  letters  of  Joseph  Warren, 
the  martyr  of  Bunker  Hill,  embracing  a  greater 
number  of  his  autograph  letters  than  all  the  others 
in  existence ;  likewise  letters  of  Wilkes  and  Cath 
erine  Macauley,  relating  to  American  affairs;  a 
large  number  of  the  autograph  letters  of  John 
Adams,  some  of  Washington's,  Jefferson's,  many  of 
Christopher  Gradsden,  of  South  Carolina,  and  a  few 
of  General  Israel  Putnam. 

The  collection  also  contains  the  unpublished  jour 
nal,  in  several  volumes,  of  the  Boston  Committee  of 
Correspondence  during  the  Revolution,  original  un 
published  letters  from  most  of  the  towns  in  Massa 
chusetts,  from  a  number  of  committees  in  Connecti 
cut,  many  from  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island, 
the  original  letters  from  the  Sons  of  Liberty  in  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Baltimore,  Annapolis,  various 
parts  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  a  most  valua 
ble  series  relating  to  South  Carolina ;  likewise  one 
of  the  two  original  letters  of  William  Prescott, 
grandfather  of  the  historian,  written  at  Pepperell, 
encouraging  the  citizens  of  Boston  not  to  yield  to 
despondency,  but  to  remain  steadfast  in  the  cause  of 
liberty. 

In  the  collection  of  manuscripts  are  nine  thick 
folio  volumes  relating  exclusively  to  the  Virginia 
colony,  and  dating  back  to  the  12th  August,  1585. 


MR.  BANCROFT  S  COLLECTION.  55 

These  volumes  contain  tlie  first  letters  written  from 
that  portion  of  the  Virginia  colony  now  included 
in  the  state  of  North  Carolina,  by  Ralph  Lane,  com 
mander  of  the  English  ships,  and  which  are  the  ear 
liest  letters  written  by  the  English  in  the  colonies. 
They  also  embrace  a  long  and  pleasing  account  of 
the  first  voyage  made  up  the  James  river,  in  Vir 
ginia,  by  Captain  Newport,  the  commander  of  the 
vessel  which  brought  the  first  emigrants  to  Vir 
ginia, 

Two  volumes  relate  to  Virginia  before  the  charter 
was  annulled,  and  contain  a  minute  account  of  all 
the  controversies  that  took  place  during  the  term  of 
each  of  the  governors,  containing  much  of  a  personal 
nature,  and  are  highly  illustrative  of  the  manners  of 
the  times. 

But  perhaps  the  most  important  papers  of  this 
period  are  those  which  relate  to  Bacon's  rebellion, 
comprising  an  entire  thick  volume.  Bacon,  who 
may  with  great  propriety  be  described  as  the  pre 
cursor  of  Patrick  Henry,  was  a  gentleman  of  much 
note  and  influence  in  Virginia,  and  was  imbued 
with  precisely  the  same  sentiments  which,  a  century 
later,  fanned  the  embers  of  the  revolution  into  a 
flame,  and  resulted  in  the  achievement  of  American 
liberty.  It  is  a  somewhat  singular  coincidence,  that 
this  rebellion,  which  brought  many  of  those  con- 


5(5  LIBKAKIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

cerned  to  the  gallows,  from  which  Bacon  only  es 
caped  by  contracting  a  fever  of  which  he  died, 
should  have  occurred  precisely  one  century  prior  to 
the  declaration  of  independence,  apparently  as  a 
forerunner  of  coming  events.  There  is  also  a  com 
plete  enumeration  of  the  population  of  Virginia  for 
the  year  1623,  giving  the  name  and  residence  of 
each  inhabitant,  as  well  as  the  number  of  deaths 
which  occurred  during  the  year.  From  this  enumera 
tion  it  appears  that  the  whole  population  amounted 
to  a  little  above  fifteen  thousand,  of  which  but 
twenty  were  negroes,  being  but  an  inconsiderable 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  population.  The  first  account 
of  a  negro  being  brought  into  Virginia  Avas  in  1619, 
when  several  were  landed  from  a  Dutch  ship. 

The  manuscript  portion  of  the  library  is  to  the  pos 
sessor  above  all  price.  Each  day  is  drifting  us  fur 
ther  away  from  that  period,  so  important  in  the  des 
tinies  of  this  country,  to  which  these  manuscripts 
refer,  rendering  whatever  facts  are  immediately  con 
nected  with  it  more  rare  and  difficult  of  attainment. 
As  history  is  made  up  of  isolated  events,  not  usually 
found  in  one  connected  and  unbroken  series  until 
brought  together  after  great  research  and  care  by 
the  historian,  it  is  obvious  that  these  unpublished 
documents,  which  constitute  a  valuable  part  of  the 
materials  from  which  the  history  of  the  United 


MR.  BANCROFTS    COLLECTION.  57 

States  is  to  be  constructed,  possess  a  value  which 
cannot  be  estimated  by  the  ordinary  rules  of  trade. 

One  peculiar  feature  of  this  library  is  the  large 
number  of  presentation  copies  of  the  works  of  the 
most  distinguished  living  authors  in  Europe  and 
America,  with  the  autographs  of  the  writers. 
Among  a  large  number  of  objects  of  attraction 
which  challenge  the  attention  of  the  visitor,  is  one 
which,  although  not  properly  a  portion  of  the 
library,  yet,  on  account  of  its  associations,  is  a  sub 
ject  of  especial  interest.  This  is  a  small  copy  of 
Rogers's  Italy,  which  the  author  was  accustomed  to 
carry  in  his  pocket,  and  upon  which  are  noted  his 
latest  emendations  in  his  own  handwriting.  This 
was  presented  to  Mrs.  Bancroft  by  the  venerable 
author  not  many  years  before  his  decease,  and  is 
particularly  valuable  because  it  contains  his  latest 
thoughts  on  this  popular  and  carefully  written  pro 
duction. 

This  literary  treasure  occupies  a  place  in  the 
library  room  immediately  below  Mr.  Bancroft's 
study,  which  is  likewise  the  depository  of  the 
Jesuit  relations,  the  large  collection  of  valuable 
manuscripts,  and  a  great  number  of  works  of  value. 
The  room  occupied  by  the  historian  as  his  study 
contains  such  works  as  are  in  immediate  demand, 
and  may  be  reached  without  much  labor.  This  and 
8 


58  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

the  adjoining  apartment  are  occupied  in  every  nook 
by  shelves  so  closely  packed  with  books  that  it  is 
impossible  for  them  to  admit  of  any  additions. 
Those  works  relating  to  art,  which  are  numerous 

o 

and  costly,  have,  in  connection  with  a  valuable  series 
of  maps,  an  apartment  chiefly  devoted  to  their  ac 
commodation. 

The  whole  library  is  composed  of  excellent  edi 
tions,  in  good  preservation,  and  for  the  most  part  in 
handsome  bindings. 


THOMAS  P.  BARTON'S  LIBRARY. 


Tins  collection  contains  about  sixteen  thousand 
volumes.  Four  thousand  of  these  belonged  to  the 
library  of  the  late  Edward  Livingston,  whose 
daughter  Mr.  Barton  married,  and  twelve  thousand 
were  collected  by  the  present  owner.  That  portion 
of  the  library  formed  by  Mr.  Livingston,  consists 
chiefly  of  works  relating  to  Jurisprudence,  and 
public  documents ;  and  that  collected  by  Mr. 
Barton,  of  those  of  a  more  general  character. 

With  respect  to  this  latter  portion,  the  collector's 
chief  aim  has  been  to  surround  himself  with  such 
authors  as  rank  among  the  best  in  every  branch  of 
literature ;  the  greatest  extension  being  given  to  the 
two  bibliographical  classes  of  Belles-Lettres  and 
History.  In  no  department,  however,  has  thorough 
completeness  been  attempted,  with  the  single  excep 
tion  of  the  Shakespeare  collection.  This  collection, 
although  constituting  one  of  the  most  interesting 
and  characteristic  features  of  the  library,  forms  in 
itself  but  an  inconsiderable  part,  now  about  one- 


60  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

eight li  of  the  whole.  It  has  not  been  made  at  a 
sacrifice  of  the  other  departments,  all  of  which, 
with  the  exception  of  the  pure  Mathematics,  are 
fairly  represented,  and  contain  numerous  works  of 
high  literary  importance,  interspersed  throughout 
with  many  that  are  remarkable  for  their  biblio 
graphical  rarity  and  value. 

A  marked  feature  in  this  collection,  is  the  condi 
tion  of  the  books,  which  are,  for  the  most  part, 
choice  copies,  almost  without  exception  on  large  or 
fine  paper,  where  such  exist,  selected  with  great 
care  during  a  period  of  thirty-five  years,  by  some  of 
the  most  respectable  booksellers  in  Europe,  includ 
ing  Messrs.  Rich,  T.  Rodd,  Pickering,  and  J.  R. 
Smith,  of  London;  Merlin,  the  Messrs.  De  Bure, 
Tilliard,  and  others,  of  Paris ;  Molini,  of  Florence ; 
&c.,  besides  purchases  made  by  the  collector  him 
self,  as  well  in  this  country,  as  during  a  long  resi 
dence  in  Europe.  A  very  large  number  are  bound 
by  the  most  celebrated  binders,  as  Roger  Payne, 
Charles  Lewis,  Clarke,  Bedford,  M'Kenzie,  Hayday, 
&c.,  in  England;  Derome,  Desseuille,  Padeloup, 
Thouvenin,  Thomson,  Bauzonnet,  Duru,  Niedree, 
&c.,  in  France.  Most  of  the  later  editions  are 
uncut. 

The  collection  has  been  enriched  by  valuable 
works  from  dispersed  libraries  of  historic  or  biblio- 


MB.  BAKTON'S  COLLECTION.  61 

graphic  interest,  including  those  of  Colbert,  Lamoi- 
gnon,  Renouard,  Guilbert  de  Pixerecourt,  Charles 
Nodier,  &c.,  on  the  continent;  of  Colonel  Stanley, 
Rev.  Theodore  Williams,  Heber,  and  many  others 
in  England.  Many  volumes  are  objects  of  interest, 
from  the  fact  of  having  once  belonged  to,  and  con 
taining  autographs  of,  persons  distinguished  by  po 
sition,  learning,  or  other  circumstances. 

The  class  of  History,  including  Geography  and 
Chronology,  Voyages  and  Travels,  History  of  Re 
ligions,  History  of  different  Nations,  Antiquities, 
Literary  History,  Bibliography,  and  Biography,  and 
which  has  been  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  most  ex 
tended,  is  considered  by  its  possessor  as  the  most 
valuable  part  of  the  library.  It  comprises  about 
five  thousand  volumes,  including  most  of  the  princi 
pal  Greek,  Roman,  English,  French,  Italian,  and  a 
few  Spanish  historians,  together  with  a  numerous 
collection  of  works  on  Literary  History  and  Bibli 
ography.  Amongst  those  worthy  of  especial  note, 
whether  from  their  rarity  or  beauty  of  condition, 
are  Holinshed's  Chronicles,  in  2  vols.,  folio,  1577, 
the  first  edition;  the  same  work,  published  in 
1586-7,  second  edition  ;  a  complete  uncut  set  of  the 
quarto  reprints  of  Arnold,  Fabyan,  Froissart,  Graf- 
ton,  Hall,  Hardyng,  Holinshed,  the  Anglo-Saxon 
and  London  Chronicles ;  the  histories  of  Clarendon, 


62  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Burnet,  Strype  (complete  in  twenty-seven  volumes), 
Gibbon,  Hume  and  Smollett,  all  Oxford  editions 
on  large  paper,  bound  in  Russia  or  morocco ;  Giral- 
dus  Cambrensw,  by  Hoare,  1806,  2  vols.,  a  match 
less  set,  on  large  paper,  witli  three  sets  of  plates,  in 
morocco,  uncut;  Sanford's  Genealogical  History  of 
the  Kings  and  Queens  of  England;  Lodge's  Por 
traits,  an  original  subscription  copy,  large  paper,  in 
large  folio,  with  proofs  throughout  on  India  paper, 
superbly  bound  in  Russia;  Stow's  Chronicle  and 
Survey,  in  several  editions ;  Strutt's  several  works ; 
Dugdale's  Warwickshire  and  St.  Paul's  Cathedral ; 
Murphy's  Arabian  Antiquities  of  Spain,  in  folio, 
published  in  1816 ;  several  works  on  the  English 
universities,  including  exceedingly  choice  copies  of 
Skelton's  Oxonia  Antiqua  Restaurata,  large  paper, 
in  folio,  with  proofs  on  India  paper ;  Ingram's  Me 
morials  of  Oxford,  Chalmers's  History  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  Oxford,  Dyer's  Cambridge,  all  on  the 
largest  paper,  with  proof  plates ;  Mey rick's  Ancient 
Armour,  in  three  folio  volumes,  with  colored  plates, 
an  original  subscription  copy,  formerly  belonging  to 
South ey;  with  many  others,  all  of  which  are  re 
markable  for  the  beauty  of  their  condition. 

In  the  division  devoted  to  French  historical  writ 
ers,  is  a  series  of  several  hundred  volumes,  compris 
ing  the  collections  of  Guizot,  Buchon,  Petitot,  <fec. ; 


MR.    BARTONS    COLLECTION.  63 

the  principal  French  historians ;  a  number  of  works 
on  separate  portions  of  French  history,  amongst 
which  are  many  very  curious  satirical  pieces,  pub 
lished  during  the  reigns  of  Henry  III.,  Henry  IV., 
and  Louis  XIII. ;  and  most  of  the  modern  French 
writers  of  history  and  memoirs ;  and  a  large  collec 
tion  of  tracts  published  during  the  French  Revolu 
tion,  &c. 

In  Italian  are  the  works  of  Muratori,  Adriani, 
Varchi,  Segni,  Machiavelli,  Guicciardini,  Davila, 
Giannone,  Denina,  Ghirardacci,  &c.  In  Latin,  are 
Guido  de  Columna's,  Historia  De&tructionis  Trojce, 
1486,  more  properly  a  romance ;  Thrwocz's  Serenis- 
simorum*  Hungarice  Hegum  Clironica,  Augsburg, 
1488  ;  Gesta  Homanorum  in  several  editions  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  including  the  Augsburg  edition  in 
German,  1489,  together  with  the  English  transla 
tion,  printed  at  London  by  Thomas  Este,  1600;  and 
the  Nuremberg  Chronicle,  Augsburg,  1493. 

AMERICAN  HISTORY.  In  works  coming  under  this 
head,  several  private  libraries  in  New  York  are 
much  richer  than  the  present  one,  where  no  attempt 
has  been  made  at  what  is  termed  a  collection. 
Great  extension  has,  of  late  years,  been  given  to 
this  interesting  class  of  books,  by  the  adjunction  of 
many  which  would  seem  to  belong  to  it  but  inci 
dentally,  such  as  the  collected  works  of  American 


64  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Statesmen  and  other  authors,  early  books  printed 
in  America,  &c.  Such  of  these  as  are  contained  in 
the  present  collection  are  otherwise  classed.  Here, 
however,  as  elsewhere,  works  of  interest  and  value 
will  be  found.  Amongst  these  are  several  of  the 
earlier  Spanish  writers,  as  Bernal  Diaz,  Herrera, 
Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  Solis,  <fec. ;  a  few  of  the  early 
English  works,  with  others  of  more  modern  date ; 
many  American,  including  several  hundred  volumes 
printed  by  order  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  amongst  which  are  the  "State  Papers,"  21 
vols.,  folio,  and  "  American  Archives,"  folio,  now 
in  course  of  publication.  Of  voyages  and  travels 
are  the  Harris,  Churchill,  and  Harleian  collections, 
Purchas,  Hakluyt,  and  the  narrative  of  the  United 
States  Exploring  Expedition,  with  the  publications 
of  the  scientific  corps,  in  large  paper  quarto,  and 
atlases  in  folio.  This  last  work  is  not  to  be  found 
complete  in  any  other  private  collection  in  the  city. 
The  chief  feature  of  this  part  of  the  collection  is,  a 
superb  copy  of  De  Bry's  Collectiones  Peregrina- 
tionum,  published  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main  in  1590 
—1634,  in  twenty-five  parts,  folio,  bound  in  twelve 
volumes;  with  four  additional  volumes,  in  two  of 
which  are  the  following,  all  in  first  editions: 
u  jPrima  pars  Descriptionis  itineris  navalis  in  In- 
diam  orientalem,  etc.  auct.  G.  M.  A.  W.  L" 


MK.  BARTON'S  COLLECTION.  65 

Amstel.  1598,  folio,  plates.  "  Diarium  Nauticum, 
seu  vera  Descriptio  trium  navigationum  admiran- 
darum.  etc.  auct.  Gerardo  de  Vera?  Amstel.  1598, 
folio  plates.  "Premier  Lime  de  VHistoire  de  la 
Navigation  aux  Indes  orientales  par  les  Ilollandois, 
etc.,  par  G.  M.  A.  W.  Z.,"  Amstel.  1598,  fol.  plates; 
"  Le  second  Livre,  Journal  ou  Comptoir,  contenant  le 
vrai  Discours  et  Narration  historique  fait  par  les 
liuit  navires  d"1  Amsterdam,  etc?  Amsterdam,  1601, 
fol.  plates ;  "  Vraie  Description  des  Trois  Voyages 
de  mer  tres-admiraUes,  &c.  par  Girard  le  Ver" 
Amst.  1598,  fol.  plates;  "Description  du  penible 
Voyage  fait  autour  de  1}  Univers,  ou  Globe  terrestre, 
par  Olivier  du  JVort,  translate  du  flamand  en 
Frangois"  Amst.  1602,  fol.  plates;  "Description  et 
Recit  liistorial  du  riclie  Royaume  d^Or  de  Gunea, 
&c?  Amst.  1605,  fol.  plates;  in  all  sixteen  vol 
umes,  elegantly  bound  in  blue  morocco,  gilt  leaves. 
This  copy  was  obtained  from  the  Messrs.  De  Bure  in 
1834,  in  whose  catalogue  for  that  year,  Part  I.,  pp. 
139-42,  after  being  mentioned  as  a  ''magnificent 
copy,  perfectly  complete,"  it  is  fully  described. 

Of  literary  History  and  Bibliography  there  are  the 
Ilistoire  Litter  air  e  de  la  France;  the  literary  his 
tories  of  Andres,  Tiraboschi,  Schcell,  Ginguene,  Sis- 
mondi,  Ticknor,  Wood's  Atlience  Oxonienses,  by 
Bliss,  large  paper,  Nichols's  Literary  Anecdotes  and 
9 


66  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Illustrations;  the  Bibliographical  Works  of  Mait- 
taire,  Panzer,  Denis,  Meerman,  Marchaud,  Auclif- 
redi,  Haym,  Fontanini,  Gamba,  Melzi,  Jacob,  Naude, 
Bullet,  Rive,  De  Bure,  Brunet,  Barbier,  Renouard, 
Peignot,  Berard,  Antonio,  Castro,  Mcolson,  Ames, 
by  Herbert,  Beloe,  Harwood,  Clarke,  Brydges,  Up- 
cott,  Home,  &c. ;  of  Dibden,  the  Decameron,  Tour 
in  France,  Northern  Tour,  and  Introduction  to  the 
Classics,  on  large  paper ;  Bibl.  Spenc.,  ^Edes  Al- 
thorp.,  and  other  works  on  small  paper;  with 
numerous  catalogues  of  public  and  private  libraries, 
reviews,  &c. 

The  class  of  Belles-Lettres  is  the  most  numerous, 
containing  upwards  of  six  thousand  volumes,  includ 
ing  Grammar,  Rhetoric,  Poetry,  the  Drama,  Fiction, 
Philology,  and  Polygraphs.  In  the  department  of 
Poetry,  headed  by  the  Histories  of  Crescimbeni, 
Quadrio  and  Warton,  and  other  introductory  works, 
are  many  first  editions  of  separate  works  by  early 
English  poets,  as  Spenser,  including  a  Daplmdida, 
1591,  not  in  Lowndes,  Daniel,  Drayton,  Milton,  But 
ler,  <fec.  the  principal  English  poets,  with  most  of  the 
Collections,  as  Dodsley,  Pearch  and  Mendez ;  Percy, 
Ellis,  Evans,  Dalrymple,  Haslewood,  Wright,  Ritson, 
complete  set  of  all  the  editions ;  of  Buchan,  Burns, 
Chambers,  Cromek,  Cunningham,  Daly  ell,  Kinloch, 
Laing,  Pinkerton,  and  Sibbald. 


ME.   BARTON  S    COLLECTION.  67 

Of  early  French  poetry,  are  the  (Euvres  &  Alain 
Cliartier,  Paris,  1529,  a  magnificent  copy;  Le  Horn- 
mant  de  la  Rose,  Paris,  1529,  from  the  library 
of  Girardot  de  Prefond;  Les  Marguerites,  &c.  de 
la  Heine  de  Navarre,  Lyons,  1547,  <fec. ;  Proven- 
gal,  Gascon,  and  other  poets,  as  Claude  Brueys, 
Jardin  deys  Musos  Provensalos,  Aix,  1628 ;  He- 
cueil  de  Poetes  Gascons,  Amst.  1600,  2  vols.,  the 
two  last,  with  several  others  not  named,  are  from 
the  collection  of  Charles  Nodier.  Here  are  also 
the  collections  of  Barbazan,  by  Meon,  Raynouard, 
and  Le  Grand  d'Anssy;  Les  Poetes  Franqais 
jusqiHa  Malherbe ;  most  of  the  late  publications 
of  early  French  poetry,  from  MSS.  in  the  public 
libraries ;  all  on  large  paper,  and  in  beautiful  condi 
tion.  There  are  also  a  few  rare  works  of  Spanish 
poetry,  as  the  Gancionero  General,  Anvers,  1573; 
and  Flores  de  Poetas  IHnstres  de  Espana,  Valla- 
dolid,  1605;  Macaronic  poets,  amongst  others,  six 
editions  of  Folengo,  including  the  first,  Venetiis, 
1517,  the  second  and  third,  1520  and  1521,  and  that 
of  1734,  on  vellum;  while  of  Italian  poets,  there 
are  Dante,  Ariosto,  Petrarch,  Tasso,  &c.,  in  choice 
copies  of  the  best  editions,  amongst  which  is  a  com 
plete  set  of  the  Pisa  folios,  in  sixteen  volumes. 

The  Dramatic  department  contains,  exclusive  of 
the  Shakespeare  collection,  about  fifteen  hundred  vol- 


68  LIBE ARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

nines.  Of  separate  plays,  there  is  a  large  number  of 
first,  and  other  early  editions,  of  the  old  dramatic 
writers,  in  different  languages,  and  more  particularly 
the  English  and  French.  Of  the  former,  Ben  Jon- 
son,  Marlowe,  Greene,  Chapman,  Peele,  Decker,  Hey- 
wood,  &c.j  are  here  in  strength,  with  a  considerable 
number  of  the  minor  dramatists,  while  all  the  prin. 
cipal  editions  of  the  entire  works  of  the  English 
dramatic  authors,  together  with  the  collections  of 
Dodsley,  Dilke,  and  others,  are  to  be  found  in  choice 
copies,  and  in  almost  every  instance  on  large  paper. 

An  unusual  proportion  of  the  books  in  this 
library  being  in  the  French  language,  this  peculiar 
ity,  as  might  be  expected,  characterizes  the  depart 
ment  now  described.  Besides  the  entire  body  of 
those  authors  who  may  be  denominated  classic,  as 
Corneille,  Racine,  Moliere,  and  a  few  others,  and 
whose  works  are  to  be  found  here  in  "  grand  papier 
velin"  copies,  there  are  many  collected  editions  of 
the  minor  dramatists,  some  of  which  are  rare,  as  Jo- 
delle,  Baif,  Des-Masures,  Montchrestien,  and  others ; 
while  of  those  authors  whose  works  have  never  ap 
peared  in  a  collected  form,  are  many  separate  plays 
of  uncommon  occurrence.  There  is  also  a  collec 
tion,  nearly  complete,  of  the  late  reprints  of  the 
early  mysteries  and  miracle  plays. 

Of  the    Spanish   dramatic   writers,  about   thirty 


MR.  BARTON'S  COLLECTION.  69 

are  represented,  including  Calderon,  of  whose  works 
—Autos  Sacrament  ales,  Madrid,  1759,  6  vols.,  and 
Comedias,  Madrid,  1760-63,  in  10  vols.,  4to — there 
is  a  superb  copy,  bound  in  morocco  by  Bauzonnet. 
The  principal  Italian  dramatic  authors  are  here  in 
collected  editions,  together  with  some  rare  early 
plays  in  a  detached  form ;  also  several  modern  Latin 
plays,  amongst  others  Hrosvite  Opera,  Norunbergse, 
1501,  folio,  Bartholoniei  Zamberti,  Comedia,  Dolo- 
tecline,  Argent.  1511,  Dramata  Sacra  ex  Veteri 
Testamento  desumpta  Basilic®,  1547,  2  vols.,  8vo. 

The  department  of  Fiction,  though  not  large,  con 
tains  a  number  of  rarities.  A  few  may  be  noted  for 
their  beautiful  condition.  In  English,  Paris  and, 
Vienna,  1650;  Parismus,  1684;  Head's  English 
Rogue,  1665-71,  complete,  with  all  the  plates,  and 
the  original  portrait  of  Head,  superbly  bound  in 
four  volumes,  in  green  morocco,  perhaps  the  finest 
copy  in  existence;  in  Italian,  exclusive  of  those 
works  which  have  been  placed  in  the  Shakespeare 
collection,  are  Brugiantino,  Cento  Novelle,  Venezia, 
1554,  a  poetic  version  of  the  Decameron,  which  is 
very  rare;  Malespini,  Ducento  Novelle,  ib.  1609; 
Landi,  Varii  Componimenti,  ib.  1552;  Sabadino, 
Porretane,  ib.  1531 ;  Selva,  Delia  Metamorfosi,  &c.,. 
ib.  1616;  Cento  Novelle  Ant-ike,  Fiorenze,  1572; 
Cento  Novelle  Amorose,  Venetia,  1651 ;  Novelle  otto, 


70  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Londra,  1790,  of  wliicli  but  twenty-five  copies  were 
printed.  In  French,  are  Gontes  et  Nouvelles  de 
Bocace,  Amst.  1697,  original  edition ;  Gent  Nou- 
velles  Nouvelles,  Cologne,  1701,  with  beautiful  im 
pressions  ;  Les  Nouvelles  de  Marguerite  de  Valois, 
Berne,  1780-1,  uncut,  tlie  plates  before  the  numbers 
—a  beautiful  copy,  the  elder  De  Bure's.  There 
are  eight  editions  of  Don  Quixotte,  including  the 
fine  one  published  at  Madrid  by  Ibarra,  1780, 
and  the  first  English  translation,  by  Shelton,  1613- 
20.  There  is  a  very  extensive  collection  of  poly 
graphs  in  the  English,  French,  German,  Spanish, 
and  Italian  languages,  at  the  head  of  which  is 
placed  collectively  the  whole  body  of  Greek  and 
Roman  literature.  In  both  these  departments,  the 
rule  observed  has  been  to  obtain  good  copies  of  the 
best  editions  of  the  principal  authors.  There  are 
but  few  bibliographical  rarities  in  either.  The 
former  offers  less  field  for  the  acquisition  of  such 
matter,  while  in  the  latter  the  selection  has  been 
chiefly  restricted  to  the  best  critical  editions.  There 
are  a  number  of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  classics 
on  large  paper ;  and  of  German  editions  on  thick 
Dutch  paper. 

Many  of  the  classics  are  from  the  library  of  the 
Rev.  Theodore  Williams,  and  amongst  others  a 
Variorum  Cicero,  in  thirty  volumes,  of  uncommon 


ME.    BAETONS    COLLECTION.  71 

beauty.     Others  are  from  the   Colbert  and  Lamoi- 
gnan  libraries. 

In  the  two  divisions  of  the  belles-lettres,  which 
have  not  been  noticed — Grammar  and  Philology 
and  Criticism — the  same  characteristics  as  to  choice 
copies,  which  are  common  to  the  other  parts  of  the 
library,  are  observed.  The  first  contains  a  large 
number  of  dictionaries,  and  grammars  of  the  several 
languages,  with  treatises,  &c.,  on  language,  amongst 
which  are  a  few  rarities,  as  Claude  Fauchet  He- 
cueil  de  Vorigine  de  la  langue  et  poesie  frangaise, 
1581,  quarto;  Henri  Estreine,  "Projer  delivre  intitule 
de  la  precellence  du  langage  frangais"  1579,  and 
"  Traite  de  la  Conformite  du  langage  franqois  avec 
le  grec,  1566.  There  are  dictionaries  in  most  of  the 
principal  languages  of  Europe :  of  the  Roman, 
Provengal,  and  vieux  langage  franc,ais,  &c.,  those  of 
Raynonard,  Lexique ;  Dictionnaire  Roman,  Walon, 
&c.  Bouillon,  1777;  Roquefort,  Glossaire;  Diction 
naire  Languedocien-Franqois,  Nismes,  1785,  &c. 
A  predilection  for  the  French  displays  itself  here, 
as  in  some  other  departments.  Of  this  language 
there  are  at  least  twenty  dictionaries,  including 
those  of  Menage,  Dictionnaire  Etymologique,  17507 
2  vol.,  folio  ;  Dictionnaire  de  Trevoux,  8  vols.,  folio ; 
Leroux,  Dictionnaire  Gomique,  Pampelune,  1786,  2 
vols.,  and  three  of  the  French  Academy. 


72  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

In  Philology,  &c.,  with  a  number  of  good  works, 
are  some  rarities,  as  Beroalde  de  Verville,  Moyen  de 
Parvenir,  three  editions,  including  the  first;  a 
Cymlalum  Miindi,  Amst.  1732,  on  vellum;  Fleury 
de  Bellingen,  Vetymologie  ou  explication  des  prov- 
erbes  francais,  La  Haye,  1656;  Les  illustres  prov- 
erbe-s,  1665;  Estienne,  Conformite  des  Merveilles  An- 
ciennes,  &c. ;  a  number  of  the  Ana,  amongst  which 
is  Menagiana,  with  all  the  cartons  at  the  end  of  the 
several  volumes. 

Three  classes  remain  unnoticed.  Of  the  most 
numerous — Jurisprudence — the  entire  collection  was 
formed  by  Mr.  Livingston.  It  contains,  as  might 
be  expected,  a  large  number  of  valuable  works  on 
Roman,  French,  Spanish,  English,  and  American 
law ;  the  principal  writers  on  the  law  of  nations,  as 
Grotius,  Puffendorf,  Burlamaqui,  Vattel,  &c.  Here 
are  also  numerous  works  on  prisons,  and  prison 
legislation  and  morals,  by  American,  French,  and 
English  writers. 

Next  in  extent  is  the  class  of  arts  and  sciences. 
The  two  divisions  which  have  received  the  largest 
development  are  the  Philosophical  and  Moral,  and 
some  branches  of  the  Natural,  sciences.  Under  the 
former  of  these  heads,  as  authors  of  separate  works, 
are  found  the  names  of  Braithwait,  Shaftesbury, 
Hume,  Hervey,  Cudworth,  Hartley,  Hutchinson, 


MR.  BARTON'S  COLLECTION.  73 

Adam  Smith,  Tucker,  Ferguson,  Home  (Ld.  Kames), 
Paley,  Reid,  Beattie,  Hey,  Stewart,  Browu,  Moral- 
istes  Anciens,  23  vols.,  Montaigne,  Cliarron,  Male- 
branche,  La  Rochefoucault,  La  Bruyere,  Vauven- 
argues,  Condillac,  Dusaulx,  Levesque  de  Pouilly,  De 
Gerando,  Alibert,  Cousin,  Vanini,  Spinosa,  Bruno 
Nolano,  Buhle,  and  Fichte. 

In  the  Political  and  Economical  branches,  the 
proportion  is  about  the  same.  Many  of  the  authors, 
coming  properly  under  these  heads,  are  classed  else 
where;  as  Bacon,  Locke,  Hobbes,  Sir  Thomas 
Brown,  Bolingbroke,  Gibbon,  Voltaire,  Diderot, 
Rousseau,  Freret,  Mably,  Mirabeau,  and  others, 
whose  entire  works  are  to  be  found  amongst  the 
numerous  polygraphs.  In  the  Natural  Sciences,  the 
portions  most  extended  are  Botany — but  more  par 
ticularly  Dendrology,  Horticulture,  Floriculture, 
and  Landscape  Gardening,  with  some  few  works  on 
Ornithology,  as  Wilson,  Temmick,  &c. 

The  Theological  collection  chiefly  consists  of  some 
of  the  more  popular  writers,  as  Tillotson,  Sher 
lock,  Blair,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Baxter,  Home,  — 
Fenelon,  Massillon,  and  others,  whose  entire  works 
are  also  here ;  and  there  is  a  very  fine  copy  of  the 
Vinegar  Bible,  Oxford,  1Y1Y,  folio,  2  vols.  Of 
writers  against  certain  religious  observances,  the 
conduct  of  the  clergy,  and  other  matters,  are  Viret 
10 


LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Des  Lyons,  Du  Moulin,  Alcoran  des  Cordeliers, 
Guerre  Seraphique,  and  Legende  Doree,  Rozet, 
Dubost,  Spiess,  Beverly,  and  others ;  and  of  singular 
opinions,  Postel,  Bruno  Nolano,  Beverland  (tlie 
four  tracts),  T.  Brown,  &c.  The  Oriental  religions 
are  but  just  represented  by  the  Zend-Avesta, 
Koran,  Upham's  Budhism,  the  works  of  Pastoret, 
Lane,  Merrick,  and  a  few  others;  while  of  Deists, 
and  other  writers  against  religion,  Avith  answers, 
there  are  Buddseus,  Vanini,  Spinosa,  Fenelon,  As- 
true,  Dumarsais,  Freret,  Mirabead,  d'Holbach,  S. 
Marechal,  &c. ;  Tindal,  Woolston,  Collins,  Hume, 
Bolingbroke,  Leland,  &c. 

The  Shakespeare  collection,  already  alluded  to  as 
forming  a  distinctive  feature  of  the  library,  contains 
at  present  upward  of  nineteen  hundred  volumes, 
and  the  number  is  constantly  increasing.  It  is 
divided  into  several  classes,  of  which  two  or  three 
shall  be  noticed  somewhat  minutely,  on  account  of 
the  very  great  rarity  of  the  works  which  compose 
them ;  while  the  others  must  be  passed  over  more 
rapidly. 

In  the  year  1623,  appeared  the  first  collected  edi 
tion  of  the  Poet's  Plays.  This  edition,  commonly 
called  the  First  Folio,  was  edited  by  the  players 
Heminge  and  Condell.  It  contains  thirty-six  plays, 
being  the  whole  number  now  generally  attributed 


ME.  BARTON'S  COLLECTION.  75 

to  Shakespeare,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  play 
of  Pericles,  Prince  of  Tyre,  which  was  not  admitted 
into  the  collection.  The  plays  which  appear  in  this 
edition  are  usually  denominated  the  Genuine  Plays, 
while  those  not  found  in  it  are  placed  under  the 
head  of  Doubtful  or  Spurious.  In  a  critical  point 
of  view,  the  propriety  of  this  classification  may  be 
disputed. 

Previous  to  the  date  of  the  folio  of  1623,  sixteen 
of  the  plays  contained  in  it,  had  already  been  pub 
lished  separately,  in  quarto.  The  dates  of  the  first 
editions  of  these  separate  publications  vary  from 
1597  to  1622,  and  these,  together  with  other  quarto 
editions  reprinted  from  them,  constitute  the  first 
class.  These  plays  are  not  quoted  here  under  the 
long  and  quaint  titles  which  appear  in  the  quartos, 
and  which  were  doubtless  composed  by  the  book 
sellers,  to  draw  attention  to  their  wares.  The  Poet, 
we  may  be  pretty  confident,  had  nothing  to  do  with 
them.  Neither  will  it  be  necessary  to  note  in  every 
instance  the  condition  of  these  rarities.  It  is  suffi 
cient  to  say,  that  with  the  very  few  exceptions 
given,  the  whole  are  absolutely  perfect,  and  all  in 
very  good  condition,  while  not  a  few  are  in  the  most 
beautiful  state  of  preservation.  The  plays  are  given 
in  the  order  observed  in  the  first  folio. 


76  LIBRAEIES    OF    NEW  YOEK. 

CLASS  I. — THE  EAELY  QUABTOS. — The  collection 
contains  the  following : 

Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  1619,  the  2d  edition. 
Do.,  1630.  Of  the  first  edition,  printed  in  1602, 
Mr.  Halliwell  informs  us  that  only  four  copies  are 
known,  which  are  in  the  libraries  of  the  Duke  of 
Devonshire,  Mr.  Daniel,  the  Bodleian,  and  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge.  These  are  the  only  three 
quartos. 

Much  Ado  About  Nothing,  1600.  The  only 
quarto  edition,  and  extremely  rare.  The  present 
copy,  which  belonged  to  George  Steevens,  the  edi 
tor  of  Shakespeare,  contains  his  autograph,  and 
manuscript  notes  on  the  outer  margin,  the  leaves 
being  inlaid  throughout. 

Lovds  Labour's  Lost,  1631.  The  first  edition, 
printed  in  1598,  is  amongst  the  rarest  of  the  quartos. 
There  are  no  other  quarto  editions. 

A  Midsummer  J^igMs  Dream,  London,  printed 
for  Thomas  Fisher,  1600.  First  edition,  and  ex 
tremely  rare.  A  very  fine  copy,  from  Heber's 
library.  Do.  Printed  by  James  Koberts,  1600. 
Also  very  rare.  There  are  no  other  quarto  editions. 

Merchant  of  Venice.  Printed  by  J.  Roberts,  1600. 
This  edition,  which  had  generally  been  ranked  as 
the  second,  is  now  found  to  be  the  first.  It  is  very 
rare,  and  the  present  copy  is  one  of  the  most  beau- 


MR.    BARTONS    COLLECTION.  77 

tiful  in  the  collection.  Do.  By  J.  R.,  for  Thomas 
Heyes,  1600,  2d  edition.  Also  very  rare.  A  fine 
copy,  from  Heber's  library.  Do.,  1637. 

The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  1631,  uncut.  The 
only  quarto  edition,  and  the  second,  the  first  being 
that  of  the  first  folio. 

King  Richard  the  Second,  1598,  2d  edition.  Very 
rare.  Very  large  and  fine  copy  from  Blight's  sale. 
Do.  A  complete  photographic  copy  of  the  (3d) 
edition  of  1608,  made  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Halli- 
well,  and  of  which  only  ten  copies  were  preserved. 
The  original  edition  sold  in  1857,  for  <£30  10*. 
Do.,  "  With  new  additions,  &c.,"  1615.  The  4th 
edition.  The  first  edition,  which  is  extremely  rare, 
was  printed  in  1597. 

The  History  of  Henry  the  Fourth  (First  Part). 
There  are  three  editions  in  the  collection,  viz. : 
those  of  1622, 1632  (superb  copy,  with  leaves  uncut 
throughout),  and  1639.  The  earlier  editions  of  this 
play,  the  first  of  which  was  printed  in  1598,  are  ex 
tremely  rare. 

The  Chronicle  History  of  Henry  the  Fift,  1608. 
The  3d  edition. 

The  True  Tragedie  of  Richarde,  Duke  of  Yorlce, 
and  the  death  of  good  King  Henrie  the  Sixt :  With 
the  whole  contention  hetweene  the  two  Houses,  Lan 
caster  and  Yorlce ;  &c.  Printed  at  London,  by  W. 


78  LIBEAEIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

W.Jor  Thomas  Mittington,  &c.,  1600.  2d  edition, 
extremely  rare.  From  Sotheby's  sale,  May  21,  1857. 
Of  the  first  edition,  printed  in  1595,  only  one  copy 
is  known,  which  produced  at  Chalmers's  sale  £131. 
This  is  not  Shakespeare's  play.  Chalmers  and 
others  have  assigned  it  to  Christopher  Marlowe, 
while  Collier  attributes  it  to  Robert  Greene.  On  it 
Shakespeare  built  the  Third  Part  of  Henry  VI.,  re 
taining  much  of  the  language. 

The  Whole  Contention  betweene  the  tivo  Famous 
Houses,  Lancaster  and  Yorke.  With  the  Tragicall 
ends  of  the  good  Duke  Humfrey,  Richard  Duke  of 
Yorhe,  and  King  Henrie  the  Sixt,  &c.  Printed  at 
London,  for  T.  P.  (1619).  This  is  a  reprint  of  the 
preceding,  and  of  another  play,  by  an  unknown 
author,  entitled,  The  first  part  of  the  contention 
betwixt  the  two  famous  houses,  &c.,  and  which  ap 
peared  in  1594.  Upon  the  last-named  play,  Shake 
speare  built  the  2d  Part  of  Henry  VI. 

The  Tragedie  of  King  Richard  the  Third, 
1634.  A  later  edition,  and  the  only  one  of  this 
play  in  the  collection.  The  first  was  printed  in 
1597. 

Titus  Andronicus,  1611.  2d  edition.  (The  title 
supplied  in  foe-simile  by  Harris).  There  are  two 
editions.  Of  the  first,  printed  in  1600,  but  two 
copies  are  known,  one  of  which  is  in  the  collection 


MK.  BARTON'S  COLLECTION.  79 

of  the  late  Earl  of  Ellesmere,  and  the  other  in  the 
Signet  Library,  at  Edinburgh. 

Romeo  and  Juliet.  Two  editions  are  here,  viz. : 
the  quarto  without  date,  but  printed  in  1607,  and 
which  is  the  3d,  and  another,  dated  1637.  For 
a  copy  of  the  first  edition,  printed  in  1597,  and 
which  is  extremely  rare,  Mr.  J.  P.  Kemble  gave 
,£30 — an  enormous  price  in  those  days.  It  is  now 
in  the  Duke  of  Devonshire's  collection. 

Hamlet.  The  reprint,  made  in  1825,  from  a  copy 
then  supposed  unique,  of  the  first  edition,  printed  in 
1603,  and  which  is  imperfect  (wanting  the  last 
leaf).  This  copy  is  in  the  Duke  of  Devonshire's 
collection.  A  second  copy  (now  in  the  British 
Museum),  was  discovered  in  1856,  with  the  last  leaf, 
but  wanting  the  title-page.  The  other  editions  here 
are : — The  quarto,  printed  for  John  Smethwicke,  N. 
D.,  but  probably  1607  (the  title-page  of  which  is 
supplied  in  fac-simile  by  Harris) ;  and  those  of 
1611  and  1637,  the  last  with  rough  leaves  through- 
out.  Besides  these,  are  the  later  editions  of 
1676,  1683,  1695,  and  1703.  In  the  edition 
of  1676,  many  passages  are  marked  for  omis 
sion  in  the  representation,  in  which  it  has  been 
followed  by  the  others.  Amongst  these  passages 
are  the  advice  of  Polonius  to  his  son,  the  first  part 
of  Hamlet's  address  to  the  Ghost,  and  the  whole  of 


80  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

his  instructions  to  the  Players  !  This  piece  of  van 
dalism  has  been  often  attributed  to  Garrick.  It 
was  perpetrated  forty  years  before  his  birth. 

The  Chronicle  History  of  the  life  and  death  of 
King  Lear,  &c.  Printed  for  Nathaniel  Butter, 
1608.  Two  editions  (if  not  three)  were  printed  in 
1608,  of  which  this  is  the  second — a  very  fine  copy 
from  Heber's  library.  They  are  all  extremely  rare. 
Do.  Printed  by  Jane  Bell,  1655.  The  rarest  of 
the  later  quartos.  (Sotheby,  May  21,  1857). 

'  Othello.  Printed  by  N.  O.,  for  Thomas  Walkley, 
1622.  First  edition,  extremely  rare.  Rhocles's  copy 
sold  for  £42,  and  Bindley's  for  £56  14*.  Do.  1630. 
A  very  valuable  edition  according  to  Collier,  being 
"  unquestionably  printed  from  a  manuscript  differ 
ent  from  that  used  for  the  quarto  of  1622  or  for  the 
folio  of  1623."  Do.,  1655.  A  republication  of  the 
preceding.  From  the  fact  of  this  edition  being  called 
the  "  fourth"  on  the  title-page,  and  the  additional  cir 
cumstance  of  Pope  having  spoken  of  an  edition 
without  date,  it  has  been  conjectured  that  an  edi 
tion  preceded  that  of  1622.  None  such  has  been 
discovered ;  so  that  the  series,  so  far  as  known,  is 
here  complete.  Here  are  also  the  later  editions  of 
1681,  1687,  1695,  1705. 

CLASS  II. — The  Second  Class  consists  of  the  ancient 
collected  editions  of  the  Plays,  commonly  called  the 


MR.  BARTON'S  COLLECTION.  81 

Four  Folios.  In  these,  which  respectively  appeared 
in  1623,  1632,  1663,  1664,  and  1685,  the  collection  is 
complete.  The  extreme  rarity  of  the  first  folio  is 
well  known.  Very  few  copies  of  it,  perfect  through 
out,  are  in  existence.  Most  of  those  offered  for  sale 
are  either  avowedly  imperfect,  or,  which  is  more 
frequently  the  case,  falsified  in  some  way  or  other. 
Deficient  leaves  have  been  reprinted  from  the  first 
folio,  or  supplied  from  the  second.  The  title-page 
(so  often  wanting)  has  been  reprinted,  with  a  blank 
space  left  for  the  insertion  of  the  portrait,  which  is 
then  taken  from  the  2d,  3d,  or  4th  folio.  The  leaf 
of  verses  facing  the  title  (generally  wanting)  has 
been  more  than  once  reprinted ;  and  both  this  leaf 
and  the  portrait  have  been  supplied  by  the  pen  in 
fac-simile,  &c.  Persons  desirous  of  obtaining  further 
information  on  this  point,  may  consult  an  amusing 
note  of  George  Steevens,  written  in  the  last  cen 
tury.*  With  respect  to  the  present  copy,  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  quote  the  following  passage  from  a 
letter,  addressed  to  its  owner,  by  Mr.  Thomas  Rodd, 
the  late  eminent  London  bookseller :  "  On  your 
Shakespeare  of  1623,  I  pin  my  reputation,  moral  as 
well  as  bibliographical.  If  you  do  not  find  it  in 
every  respect  perfect  and  genuine,  I  will  make  you 
a  present  of  the  book,  and  will,  in  addition,  forfeit 

*  Malone's  Edit,  by  Boswell,  1821,  vol.  ii.,  p.  658. 
11 


82  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

ten  pounds  a  leaf  for  every  one  that  is  not  genuine." 
In  another  letter,  Mr.  Rodd  observes :  "  Of  all  the 
copies  of  this  folio  which  have  passed  under  my  in 
spection,  about  forty  in  number,  perfect  and  imper 
fect,  but  three  take  precedence  of  this  in  point  of 
size  and  condition.  They  respectively  belong  to 
the  Rt.  Hon.  Thomas  Grenville  (now  in  the  British 
Museum),  Mr.  Daniel,  and  Lord  Francis  Egerton 
(the  late  Earl  of  Ellesmere)."  A  copy,  said  to  be 
the  best  ever  offered  at  public  sale,  produced,  in 
1854,  £250. 

There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  present  copy  which 
is  worthy  of  notice.  In  the  play  of  "  As  You  Like 
It,"  two  cancelled  leaves  have  been  retained,  in  addi 
tion  to  those  printed  to  supply  their  place.  On  the 
first,  the  signature  is  R2  (instead  of  R),  and  the 
pagination  is  203  (instead  of  193).  On  the  second, 
(R6),  verso,  the  pagination  is  194  (instead  of  204). 
After  a  careful  examination,  no  other  differences 
have  been  discovered.  In  red  morocco,  by  C.  Lewis. 

The  copy  of  the  folio  of  1632,  a  very  fine  one, 
bound  by  Roger  Payne,  is  from  Col.  Stanley's 
library.  It  originally  wanted  the  leaf  with  Ben 
Jonson's  verses,  which  was  supplied  by  Mr.  Rodd 
from  another  copy.  This  edition  also  contains  only 
36  plays.  Though  much  more  common  than  the 
first  folio,  it  is  notwithstanding  a  rare  book. 


ME.  BAETON'S  COLLECTION.  83 

Of  the  third  impression  there  are  two  varieties. 
The  first  has,  like  the  1st  and  2d  folios,  only  36 
plays,  and  bears  on  the  title-page — "  London,  Printed 
for  Philip  Chetwinde,  1663."  The  portrait,  which 
occupies  the  same  place  as  in  the  other  two  folios, 
viz. :  on  the  title-page,  is  not  inserted  in  all  the 
copies,  the  space  in  some  of  them  being  left  blank. 
The  present  copy,  a  very  large  one,  is  from  Sothe 
by's  Sale,  December  9, 1858.  It  has  the  verses  oppo 
site  the  title  inlaid,  and  the  margins  of  title  and  first 
leaf  of  dedication  neatly  restored.  In  red  morocco, 
gilt  edges,  Harleian  style.  In  the  second  variety, 
the  space  usually  occupied  by  the  portrait  has  the 
following  words :  "  And  unto  this  impression  is 
added  seven  Playes,  never  before  printed  in  Folio, 
viz. :  Pericles  Prince  of  Tyre.  The  London  Prodigall. 
The  History  of  Thomas  Ld  Cromwell.  Sir  Jolin 
Oldcastle  Lord  Cobham.  The  Puritan  Widow. 
A  York-shire  Tragedy.  The  Tragedy  of  Locrine." 
And  the  imprint  is — "  London,  Printed  for  P.  C. 
1664."  The  plays  mentioned  on  the  title  are  placed 
at  the  end  of  the  volume,  with  two  separate  pagina 
tions,  one  for  Pericles,  a  second  for  the  other  six 
plays ;  and  a  leaf,  containing  the  portrait,  with  Ben 
Jonsoii's  verses  underneath,  is  made  to  face  the  title. 
Red  morocco,  gilt  edges,  with  arms. 

It  has  been  frequently  asserted  that  the  greater 


84  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

part  of  tliis  impression  was  destroyed  in  the  fire  of 
London ;  but  this  is  doubted  by  Lowndes,  Knight, 
and  others.  It  is  very  questionable  whether  this 
edition  be  of  much  rarer  occurrence  than  the  second. 

The  fourth  edition,  1685,  is  a  repetition  of  the 
second  variety  of  the  third,  with  the  Seven  Plays. 
In  a  literary  point  of  view  it  is  without  value,  nor 
is  the  book  one  of  very  uncommon  occurrence.  In 
appearance  it  is  totally  unlike  the  others ;  amongst 
other  differences,  the  forms  being  one  inch  taller. 
There  is  a  magnificently  bound,  uncut  copy  of  the 
reprint  of  the  first  folio,  made  in  1808 ;  and  another 
copy  of  the  same  reprint,  illustrated,  and  bound  in 
four  volumes. 

The  modern  editions  form  another  class,  com 
mencing  with  that  of  Rowe,  1709-10  (the  edition 
next  in  succession  to  the  fourth  folio),  and  end 
ing  with  that  of  Halliwell  (in  course  of  publica 
tion).  As  these  editions  may  now  be  counted  by 
hundreds,  it  would  have  been  an  easy  matter  to  ac 
cumulate  a  great  number  of  volumes  without  any 
corresponding  advantage.  Selections  have  been 
made,  in  which  the  first  object  was  to  obtain  the 
different  texts  of  the  several  editors  in  their  own 
authorized  editions.  To  these  a  few  have  been 
added,  remarkable  for  beauty  of  typography,  plates, 
or  other  adventitious  circumstances.  The  collection 


MR,  BAKTON'S  COLLECTION.  85 

now  contains  thirty-nine  modern  editions  of  the 
entire  works  (excluding  numerous  separate  por 
tions)  ;  and  about  eight  or  ten  are  still  wanting  to 
render  the  series  sufficiently  complete.  Amongst 
those  of  less  common  occurrence  which  are  here, 
may  be  enumerated  the  following,  viz. :  those  of 
Rowe,  1709-10,  and  Theobald,  1733,  both  on  large 
paper ;  Johnson,  1765,  Capell,  1768,  Malone,  1790 
{fine  paper),  and  Malone  by  Boswell,  1821,  all 
uncut;  Tyas's  Illustrated  Shakespeare,  printed 
entirely  on  India  paper ;  Boydell's  folio  edition ; 
Halliwell's  folio  edition ;  and  three  volumes  in  8vo. 
without  titles  or  date,  but  printed  by  James  Ballan- 
tyne  and  Co.,  containing  twelve  plays,  being  all 
those  which  are  called  "  Comedies "  in  the  folios, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Tempest  and  Winters  Tale. 
They  wrere  obtained  from  Mr.  Rodd,  who  has  writ 
ten  in  one  of  them  a  Ions;  and  interesting  note,  com- 

o  o  / 

mencing  with  these  words :  "  I  purchased  these 
three  volumes  from  a  sale  at  Edinburgh.  They 
were  entered  in  the  catalogue  as  '  Shakespeare's 
Works,  edited  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  and  Lockhart, 
vols.  2,  3,  4,  (all  published),  unique?  That  Scott 
entertained  the  design  of  editing  Shakespeare,  I 
know  from  A.  Constable,  who  mentioned  it  to  me 
more  than  once,  and  I  sent  him  a  little  book  of  mem 
oranda  for  Scott's  use."  After  which  follows  a 


86  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

severe  criticism  on  the  performance,  both  editorial 
and  typographical.  In  the  separate  editions  of  the 
Poems,  the  collection  is  not  rich.  There  are  but 
two  decided  rarities,  viz. :  The  Poems,  1640,  with 
the  portrait,  and  the  two  titles ;  from  Mr.  Rodd, 
who  has  added  (Dec.  1839) :  "  No  copy  in  the 
British  Museum."  The  other  is  the  Rape  of  Lu- 
erece,  1655,  Wmo.,  front.  There  are  several  editions 
of  more  modern  date. 

Of  the  Doubtful  and  Spurious  Plays  there  are 
nineteen  early  editions,  viz. :  Pericles,  1609  (first 
edition,  Steevens's  copy),  1619,  1630  (two  copies, 
with  variations  on  the  title-page),  and  1635.  Sir 
John  Oldcastle,  1600  (one  of  the  two  printed  that 
year — the  first,  according  to  Lowndes,  but  probably 
the  second),  a  beautiful  copy,  from  Heber's  library. 
The  Puritaine,  1607  (the  title  and  last  leaf  in  fac 
simile).  A.  York-shire  Tragedie,  1619.  It  is  some 
what  singular,  that  while  an  edition  dated  1608  is 
given  by  Lowndes,  with  collation,  date  of  sale,  &c., 
Mr.  Rodd,  a  good  Shakespearian  bibliographer,  in 
one  of  his  letters  to  Mr.  Barton,  positively  asserts 
that  no  such  edition  is  in  existence.  The  troublesome 
Raigne  of  John,  King  of  England,  1611,  (Sotheby, 
May  21,  1857),  and  1622.  Fair  Em,  1631.  The 
Birth  of  Merlin,  1662.  The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen, 
by  Fletcher  and  Shakespeare,  1634.  Mucedorus, 


MR.  BARTON'S  COLLECTION.  87 

1613,  1639,  1663,  and  1668.  The  Merry  Devil  of 
Edmonton,  1626  and  1631,  together  with  the  Spu 
rious  Tract — "  A  compendious  or  briefe  examination 
of  certayne  ordinary  complaints, — By  W.  S."  1581. 
The  W.  S.  are  now  admitted  to  stand  for  William 
Stafford. 

The  class  next  in  order  comprehends  the  very 
numerous  Alterations  of  Shakespeare's  Plays,  by 
Davenant,  Dryden,  Otway,  Shadwell,  Tate,  Crowne, 
Ravenscroft,  Sir  Charles  Sedley,  Lord  Lansdowne, 
Dennis,  Betterton,  Hill,  Thomson,  Gibber,  Garrick, 
Sheridan,  Kemble,  and  many  others.  These  are  fol 
lowed  by  Imitations,  either  of  Shakespeare's  general 
style,  or  of  particular  passages ;  under  which  head 
are  found  the  names  of  Milton,  Beaumont,  Fletcher, 
Sir  John  Suckling,  Howe,  Young,  with  other  Eng 
lish  authors;  and  of  German  and  French,  Schiller, 
Goethe,  Destouches,  Voltaire,  Ducis,  and  others. 
The  class  concludes  with  the  Parodies. 

The  Seventh  Class,  numerically  considered,  would 
stand  at  the  head  of  the  list.  It  embraces  within 
its  extensive  range  all  the  early  works  which  con 
tain  mention  of,  or  allusion  to,  the  Poet  or  his  writ 
ings,  with  a  few  otherwise  illustrative  of  them; 
criticisms,  whether  professedly  Shakespearian,  or 
simply  incidental ;  biographies  of  Shakespeare ;  cat 
alogues  of  Shakespeariana  and  bibliographical  no- 


88  LIBKAKIES    OF    NEW    YOKE. 

tices ;  &c.,  and  includes  the  whole  field  of  periodical 
literature.  All  these  works  are  placed  in  chronolog 
ical  succession,  with  a  view  to  exhibit  at  one  glance 
the  progress  of  Shakespearian  Literature.  A  simple 
enumeration  of  the  titles  of  the  several  works  of 
this  class  alone,  which  are  in  the  collection,  would 
fill  a  small  volume.  With  Spenser's  Teares  of  the 
Muses  1591  (the  first  in  date),  the  following  names 
and  titles  are  found  here : — Greene's  Groatswortli  of 
Wit  (later  edition  of  1629)  ;  SUaletlieia,  1598  (Bel- 
dornie  press  reprint) ;  Barnefield's  Poems,  1598 
(Roxburgh  Club  reprint)  ;  Ben  Jonson,  three  plays, 
1600-1609;  Allot's  England'1  s  Parnassus,  1600; 
Jacke  DrunJs  Entertainment,  1601 ;  Decker,  three 
plays,  1602-36;  Middleton,  two  plays,  1602-8; 
Davies,  Microcosmos,  1603;  Marston,  two  plays, 
1604-6  ;  Returne  from  Parnassus,  1606  ;  Daniel, 
Queened-  Arcadia,  1606;  Chapman,  Monsieur  d' Ol 
ive,  1606 ;  Reynolds,  Dolarny's  P  rimer  ose,  1606 
(Roxburgh  Club  reprint}  ;  Barnes,  Devils  Charter, 
1607 ;  A  Jewes  Prophesy,  or  Newes  from  Rome. 
By  W.  W.  1607.  "  Only  one  other  copy  known. 
See  at  the  end  a  curious  allusion  to  a  Jew  named 
Shylodc."  (Sotheby,  June  13,  1859) ;  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher,  five  plays,  1607-19 ;  Forman's  Diary, 
{printed  1849);  Painful  Adventures  of  Perides, 
1608  (Professor  Mommseris  reprint)',  Decker,  The 


MR.  BARTON'S  COLLECTION.  89 

Gulfs  Home-book,  1609  (reprint);  Armin,  The 
Italian  Tailor  and  liis  Boy,  1609  Reprint,  4to.)  ; 
A  Mirror  for  Magistrates,  1610,  3  volumes;  Hey- 
wood's  Apology  for  Actors,  1612 ;  Scaliger,  De 
SubtiUtate,  1612 ;  Robert  Tailor,  The  Hogge  hath 
lost  liis  Pearle,  1614;  Tomlds,  Albumazar,  1615; 
Haugliton,  Englishmen  for  my  Money,  1616;  May, 
The-  Heire,  1622;  Massinger,  ten  plays,  1623-39; 
Ford,  seven  plays,  1629-39;  Randolph,  Aristippn s, 
1630;  Shirley,  fourteen  plays,  1630-40;  Lipsii  (J.), 
Monita  et  Exempla,  1630;  Donne,  Polydoron,  1631; 
Rowley  (Win.),  A  Match  at  Midnight,  1633; 
Prynne,  Histrio-Mastix,  1633;  Meres,  Wits  Acad 
emy,  1636;  Heywood  (T.),  A  Challenge  for  Beauty, 
1636;  Mynsliull  (Gr.),  Essay es  and  Character  of  a 
Prison,  &c.  1638  (second  editioii)  ;  Cooke  (Jolin), 
Vindication  of  the  Professors  and  Profession  of  the 
Law,  1646;  Cartwright  (Wm.),  Comedies,  Tragi- 
Comedies,  with  other  Poems,  1651;  Brome  (Rich.), 
Jovial  Crew,  1652,  suidflive  new  Plays,  1653.  The 
plays  not  named  are  invariably  in  first  editions. 

The  above  list  will  show  the  extent  to  which  the 
illustration  of  Shakespeare  has  been  carried;  and 
yet  within  the  period  embraced,  not  a  few  works 
are  wanting  to  complete  it.  It  is  only  toward  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century  that  the  series  of 
professedly  Shakespearian  commences.  They 
12 


90  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

do  not  become  numerous,  however,  till  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth.  After  that  period  the 
increase  is  rapid ;  and  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  century,  and  the  whole  of  this,  their  name  is 
legion.  In  the  present  collection,  this  class  alone 
contains  upward  of  five  hundred  volumes,  exclusive 
of  portions  detached  from  periodical  literature, 
which  are  very  numerous.  Amongst  the  minor 
curiosities,  are  several  unique  copies  of  the  later 
tracts  on  vellum,  and  on  India  or  colored  paper. 

Two  separate  but  subordinate  classes  are  devoted 
respectively  to  the  Ireland  Forgery,  and  to  the  sev 
eral  Jubilees  held  at  Stratford-upon-Avoii,  and  else 
where,  in  honor  of  the  Poet. 

Next  in  order  are  the  Translations,  which  are 
here  in  eleven  different  languages.  Of  the  whole 
works,  there  are  in  German  seven  translations,  viz. : 
those  of  Eschenburg;  Schlegel  and  Tieck;  Voss 
and  Sons;  Korner;  Doring,  and  others,  Leipzig, 
1838-9;  Bottger,  Fischer,  and  others,  $.,  1842; 
Keller  and  Rapp ;  Ortlepp ;  with  numerous  por 
tions,  and  supplementary  volumes,  by  Kaufmann 
and  others.  In  French,  there  are  three  translations, 
viz.:  those  of  Letourneur  (edition  1821);  Laroche; 
Hugo  (in  course  of  publication) ;  and  portions,  by 
Laplace  in  his  Theatre  Anglois,  1Y46-9.  In  Dan 
ish,  one  translation  by  Foersom ;  in  Swedish,  one 


MR.  BARTON'S  COLLECTION.  91 

by  Hagberg;  in  Italian  (in  great  part),  by  Leoni; 
while  in  three  of  the  above  languages  (German, 
French  and  Italian),  there  are  numerous  translations 
of  the  separate  plays  by  other  authors.  Besides 
these,  there  are  also  of  translations  of  separate  plays, 
seventeen  in  Russian,  three  in  Polish,  three  in  Span 
ish,  one  in  Latin,  and  one  in  modern  Greek.  The 
Hungarian  translation  of  Dobrentei,  has  not  yet 
found  its  way  into  the  collection. 

The  Pictorial  Illustrations  which  follow  embrace 
a  number  of  fine  works,  including  a  superb  copy  of 
Boy  dell's  large  plates,  proofs  on  India  paper  through 
out  j  a  complete  set  of  Retzsch's  outlines  in  first 
editions  j  and  the  beautiful  illustrations  of  Kaulbach, 
on  large  paper.  Most  of  the  works  of  this  class, 
which  were  published  in  a  collected  form,  are  in  the 
collection ;  but  the  number  of  separate  engravings 
is  not  great,  except  the  detached  portraits  of  Shake 
speare,  which  are  numerous.  Most  of  those  called 
character  prints  are  barely  represented.  There  is  a 
fine  cast  from  the  monumental  bust  at  Stratford; 
and  some  medals. 

The  last,  and  in  some  respects  the  most  interest 
ing  class,  is  entitled  Shakespearian  Sources.  It 
comprehends  all  those  works,  in  every  department 
of  literature,  to  which  may  be  traced,  directly  or  re 
motely,  the  several  plots,  incidents  or  allusions,  to 


92  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

be  found  in  those  of  the  Poet.  This  part  of  the  col 
lection  is  not,  and  probably  never  will  be,  even 
moderately  complete.  Such  an  assertion  can  sur 
prise  no  one  who  considers  the  extreme  rarity  of 
many  of  the  works  in  question.  Not  only  ought  all 
the  editions  to  bear  date  anterior  to  those  of  the 
works  which  they  respectively  illustrate,  but  also, 
whenever,  as  is  often  the  case,  a  plot  or  incident  is 
traced  through  a  succession  of  writers,  the  same  rule 
should  be  observed.  In  every  instance,  an  effort 
is  made  to  obtain  the  first  edition  of  a  work.  When 
this  cannot  be  had,  another,  but  early,  edition  is 
used ;  while  in  some  cases  it  has  been  found  neces 
sary  here,  as  well  as  in  a  former  class,  to  substitute 
a  modern  reprint. 

The  following  works,  in  which  the  story  of  a  play, 
or  a  part  of  it,  is  found,  are  in  the  collection :  For 
the  English  Historical  Plays,  the  Chronicles  of 
Hall  and  Holinshed.  Greek  and  Roman  Plays.— 
Plutarch,  translated  by  North,  London,  1595,  folio  ; 
Narratio,  eorum  quae  contigerunt,  Apollonio  Tyrio, 
August.  Vindel.  1595,  4to. ;  Apollonio  di  Tiro, 
Historiato,  Venetia,  1555,  8vo.  (both  for  Pericles)  ; 
L'Amore  di  Trolio,  et  Griseida,  Di  Angelo  Leonico, 
Venetia,  1553,  4to.  Hamlet. — Saxo  Grammaticus, 
Danica  Historia,  Francof.  ad  Moenum,  1576,  folio. 
Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona. — Jorge  de  Montemayor, 


MR,    BARTONS    COLLECTION.  93 

Diana,  Anvers,  1575, 12mo.  Merchant  of  Venice.— 
Alexandra  Vanden  Bussche,  dit  le  Sylvain,  Epitome 
de  Cent  Histoires  Tragiques,  Paris,  1581,  8vo.,  Alex. 
Silvayn.  Tlie  Orator,  London,  1596,  4to.,  a  transla 
tion  of  the  preceding.  Taming  of  the  Shrew. — Induc 
tion.  Lud.  Ariosto,  Gli  Soppositi,  Vinegia,  1525, 
8vo. ;  La  Come  die  des  Supposez,  trad,  par  de  Mesmes, 
Paris,  1552,  8vo.  a  translation  of  the  preceding;  Sir 
Richard  Barckley,  Kt.  Discourse  of  the  Felicitie 
of  Man,  London,  1598,  4to. ;  The  Waking  Man's 
Dreame,  a  fragment  from  a  book  printed  about 
1630,  but  supposed  to  be  a  reprint  of  an  earlier 
work  which  is  lost,  4to.  Jtomeo  and  Juliet. — Le 
cinquanta  novelle  di  Massuccio  Salernitano,  Vinegia, 
1535,  8vo.  The  story  is  found  here  under  the  names 
of  Mariotto  and  Grianozza.  The  first  edition  is  that 
of  Naples,  1476.  Novella  novamente  ritrovata  d'uno 
Innamoramento :  II  qual  successe  in  Verona  nel 
tempo  del  Signor  Bartholomeo  de  la  Scala :  Hystoria 
locondissima  (in  fine)  :  Qui  finisse  lo  infelice  In 
namoramento  di  Romeo  Montecchi  &  di  Giulietta 
Capelletti.  Stampato  in  Venetia  per  Benedetto  de 
Bendoni,  a  di  x.  Giugno.  MDXXXV,  small  8vo. 
The  author  of  this  novel  is  Luigi  da  Porto,  but  his 
name  does  not  appear.  He  took  the  story  from 
Masuccio,  changing  the  names  of  the  lovers.  This 
is  supposed  to  be  the  second  edition ;  the  other,  also 


94  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

printed  at  Venice,  is  without  date,  but  is  supposed 
to  have  been  printed  about  1510-15.  L'inlelice 
amore  de  i  due  fedelissimi  amanti  Giulia  e  Romeo, 
scritto  in  ottava  rima  da  Clitia  nobile  Veronese  ad 
Ardeo  suo,  Vinegia,  Giolito,  1553,  small  8vo. 
Mattli.  Bandello,  Le  Novelle,  Lucca,  1554,  4to.  3 
vols.  e  Lione,  1573,  8vo.  First  edition,  the  Roxburghe 
copy.  Porto's  story  is  copied,  with  some  alterations 
in  the  language,  by  Bandello,  who  is  also  quoted  for 
the  origin  of  Much  Ado  about  Nothing,  and  Twelfth 
Night.  The  Palace  of  Pleasure,  by  William  Painter, 
London,  1813,  4to.  3  vols.  Mr.  Hasle  wood's  reprint 
of  the  second  edition  of  1575.  The  first  was  printed 
in  1566—7.  This  book  is  quoted  as  the  source  of 
other  plays  of  Shakespeare.  Othello. — Degli  hecca- 
tommithi  di  M.  Giovanbattista  Giraldi  Cinthio  nobile 
ferrarere  parte  prima  (e  la  seconda  parte).  Nel 
Monte  Regale  Appresso  Lionardo  Torrentino,  1565, 
8vo.  2  vols.  The  original  edition,  complete.  As 
You  Like  It. — Euphues  Golden  Legacie.  Found 
after  his  death  in  his  Cell  at  Silexedra.  Bequeathed 
to  Philantus  Sonnes,  nursed  up  with  their  Father  in 
England.  Fetcht  from  the  Canaries,  by  T.  L.  Gent. 
London,  1624,  4to.  The  author  of  this  work  was 
Thomas  Lodge,  M.  D.  The  first  edition  was  in 
1581?  Twelfth  Night.— Gli  Inganni,  Gli  Ingan- 
nati,  II  Sacrificio,  II  Viluppo.  Several  Italian  com- 


MR.   BARTON  S    COLLECTION.  95 

edies,  so  entitled.  See  Bright's  Catalogue,  No. 
1393. 

Secondly.  Of  works  which  furnished  Incidents, 
Passages,  or  Allusions,  the  titles  are  briefly  given. 
The  Tragedie  of  Solimon  and  Perseda,  London, 
1599,  4to.  ridiculed  in  King  John.  Vincentio  Savi- 
olo  his  Practise,  London,  1595,  4to.  alluded  to  in  As 
You  Like  It.  A  Declaration  of  egregious  Popish 
Impostures,  &c.  by  Bishop  Harsnet,  London,  1603, 
4to.  names  of  the  Spirits  in  Lear.  R.  Mulcaster, 
Positions,  &c.  London,  1581,  4to.  and  The  first 
Part  of  the  Elementarie,  &c.  London,  1582,  4to. 
Mulcaster  is  supposed  to  be  the  Holophernes  of 
Love's  Labour's  Lost.  Sir  Thomas  Elyot,  Knt, 
The  Boke  named  the  Governour.  London,  1553, 
16mo.  The  Commitment  of  Henry  V.  when  Prince 
of  Wales,  first  told  here.  William  Alexander,  Earl 
of  Stirling,  The  Monarchicke  Tragedies,  and  other 
works,  London,  1604-7,  4to.  In  the  tragedy  of 
Darius,  1604,  is  a  passage  which  bears  a  remarka 
ble  resemblance  to  one  in  the  Tempest.  Giles 
Fletcher,  Of  the  Russe  Common  Wealth,  London, 
1591,  8vo.  Expressions  in  Hamlet  and  Macbeth. 

Thirdly,  works  to  which  Shakespeare,  in  common 
with  the  other  elder  Dramatists,  was  indebted,  and 
which  have  all  been  referred  to  by  the  several  com 
mentators.  Sir  Geoffrey  Fenton,  Certaine  Tragicall 


96  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Discourses  written  out  of  Frenche  and  Latin,  Lon 
don,  1567,  4to.;  A  Petite  Palace  of  Pettie  Ms  Pleas 
ure,  London,  1613,  4to. ;  Reginald  Scot,  The  Dis 
covery  of  Witchcraft,  London,  1584,  4to.  Pierre 
de  la  Primaudaye,  Academie  Frangoise,  Paris, 
1579,  8vo. ;  Peter  de  la  Primaudaye,  The  French 
Academie,  London,  1586,  4to.  The  first  edition. 
Abraham  Fraunce,  The  Lawiers  Logike,  London, 
1588,  4to. ;  Thomas  Wilson,  The  Arte  of  Rhet- 
orique,  London,  by  John  Kingston,  1562,  4to. ; 
P.  de  Loier,  A  Treatise  of  Specters  or  Straunge 
Sights,  Visions  and  Apparitions,  London,  1605,  4to.; 
Isaaci  Wake,  Rex  Platonicus,  Oxon.,  1607,  4to.;  Ad 
mirable  and  memorable  Histories,  by  I.  (it  should 
be  Simon)  Goulart ;  out  of  French  into  English,  by 
Ed.  Grimestone,  London,  1607,  4to.  First  vol.  No 
more  appeared.  Batman  uppon  Bartholome  his 
Booke  de  Proprietatibus  Rerum,  &c.  London,  by 
Thomas  East,  folio. 

Some  early  editions  and  many  reprints  have  been 
passed ;  besides  which  there  is  a  large  collection  of 
Autograph  Letters  of  Authors,  Editors,  Translators, 
and  others,  whose  names  could  be  properly  asso 
ciated  with  the  collection. 


THE  REV.  DR.  BETIIUNE'S  LIBRARY. 


THE  impression  upon  entering  Dr.  Bethune's  libra 
ry  is,  that  it  belongs  to  a  hard-working  and  rather 
careless  student,  whose  attention  is  occupied  more 
with  the  interior  than  the  exterior  of  his  books,  and 
that  he  is  therefore  regardless  of  their  appear 
ance.  Its  rough  board  bindings,  often  broken,  show 
more  handling  than  care;  and  the  confused  heaps 
on  table,  chairs  and  floor,  a  necessity  for  present  use, 
and  possibly  a  disinclination  to  spend  time  in  restor 
ing  them  to  their  appropriate  places  at  once.  His 
excuse  for  the  condition  of  his  books  is,  that  a  cler 
gyman  has  too  many  demands  made  upon  his  means 
to  allow  of  his  spending  money  for  mere  ornament ; 
and  that  the  cost  of  binding  one  old  volume  would 
buy  a  new  one,  and  the  insides  of  the  two  would  be 
worth  more  than  one,  however  handsomely  bound. 
He  is  waiting  for  the  return  of  the  Golden  Age  to 
dress  his  library  handsomely. 

The  collection  has  been  made  so  gradually,  that 

its   possessor,   who   purchased   from   time   to   time 
13 


98  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

works  desirable  in  his  professional  studies,  or  to 
gratify  tastes  that  relieved  his  mind  from  the  strain 
of  severer  pursuits,  had  no  idea  of  its  extent,  and 
could  not  believe,  until  convinced  by  the  actual 
enumeration  we  made  of  it,  that  it  numbers  more 
than  six  thousand  volumes. 

Its  chief  strength,  as  might  be  expected,  lies  in 
its  theological  department,  which  contains  nearly 
all  the  standard  divines  of  the  early  and  Protestant 
Churches,  and  also  of  the  Roman  Catholic  writers, 
particularly  those  on  systematic  and  polemical  the 
ology.  Among  these  are  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  San 
chez,  and  others,  down  to  Archbishop  Kenrkk,  the 
present  learned  and  able  primate  of  that  Church  in 
this  country.  It  is  well  supplied  with  religious  sys 
tems,  books  of  casuistry  and  ethics,  ecclesiastical 
polity,  both  ancient  and  modern,  together  with  the 
works  of  the  most  noted  of  the  infidel  writers,  and 
the  answers  to  them.  The  writings  of  the  Fathers 
are  far  from  being  complete,  though  there  are  good 
editions  of  Theophylact,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  St. 
Ambrose  "  the  glorious  bishop  of  Milan,"  St.  Au 
gustine,  &c.,  which  are  held  in  high  esteem  by  Dr. 
Bethune.  Among  the  English  divines  are  Wycliffe, 
"  the  morning-star  of  the  Reformation,"  Tyndale, 
Latimer,  Hopkins  (Bishop),  Sanderson,  Skelton; 
Samuel  Clark,  South,  Hale,  Parr,  and  all  the  most 


REV.  DE.  BETHUNE'S  COLLECTION.  99 

distinguished  of  the  Established  and  Dissenting 
Churches,  down  to  the  present  day.  There  is,  also, 
a  most  curious  collection  of  occasional  sermons  of  the 
17th  and  18th  centuries,  in  twenty- three  thick  octavo 
volumes,  some  of  which  were  preached  in  America, 
and  are  illustrative  of  American  history.  Near  them 
are  several  shelves  of  Continental  theologians,  Cath 
olic  and  Protestant,  in  various  languages.  Many  of 
them,  particularly  among  the  French,  are  rare  and 
valuable,  as  the  elder  Du  Moulin,  and  others  of  the 
Charenton  school,  and  their  opponents ;  the  Hugue 
not  exiles  in  Holland,  as  Superville,  Saurin,  the 
Basnages,  &c. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism,  being  the  special 
standard  of  the  Dutch  Church,  which  its  ministers 
are  peremptorily  required  to  expound  to  their  peo 
ple,  has  naturally  received  a  large  share  of  Dr.  Be- 
thune's  attention;  and  he  has  spared  no  pains  in 
collecting  many  histories,  controversial  tracts  and 
expositions,  seizing  eagerly  upon  every  volume  illus 
trative  of  its  text,  he  can  lay  his  hands  on.  The 
department  De  Re  Heidelbergien-si  is  already  large, 
though  far  short  of  being  complete,  but  the  Doctor 
is  using  every  exertion  to  make  it  so.  Of  those 
acquired  some  are  extremely  rare;  and  prominent 
among  these  is  the  treatise  of  L'Enfant,  vindicating 
the  purity  of  the  Catechism  against  the  attacks 


100  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

of  the  Jesuits  of  the  Palatinate.  Near  these  are 
many  of  the  Reformers,  greater  and  minor,  with 
rare  bits  of  Puritan  controversy,  and  monographs 
on  particular  points  of  doctrine,  discipline,  and 
Church  order. 

The  classical  portion  of  the  library  is  excellent, 
containing  nearly  all  the  standard  authors,  with 
many  of  less  worth,  from  Homer  and  Hesiod  down. 
The  editions  are  all  good,  and  most  of  them  of  the 
best.  Among  them  are  the  several  Anthologies,  the 
Byzantine  historians,  Kiihn's  voluminous  editions 
of  the  Greek  medical  authors,  with  their  Latin 
brethren  of  the  healing  art ;  writers  on  geography, 
grammar,  the  fine  and  useful  arts,  archaeology,  gos 
sip,  and,  in  general,  whatever  bears  on  classical 
knowledge  and  entertainment. 

Dr.  Bethune  has  evidently  an  especial  taste  for 
the  investigation  of  old  philosophies,  mythologies, 
and  mysteries,  and  hence  has  a  choice  and  rather 
numerous  collection  of  books,  ancient  and  modern, 
on  these  subjects.  Indeed,  there  are  few  subjects 
connected  with  ancient  religious  or  moral  opinions, 
on  which  the  student  may  not  find  here  large  stores 
of  information ;  but  the  Doctor  lamented  to  us  his 
lack  of  a  copy  of  Brucker  (Hist.  Grit.  Philos.),  from 
which  Enfielcl  has  drawn  the  material  of  his  most 
respectable  work ;  and  he  tells  an  amusing  story  of 


REV.  DR.  BETHUNE'S  COLLECTION.  101 

his  difficulties  in  bargaining  for  it,  which,  out  of 
charity  for  the  worthy  bibliopole,  the  writer,  not 
without  reluctance,  refrains  from  recording. 

The  section  devoted  to  general  literature  is  not 
full,  although  it  contains  some  good  and  many  curi 
ously  rare  books ;  among  the  best,  are  all  the  earlier 
English  and  Scotch  poets,  with  ballads  and  biblio 
graphical  notices  of  early  poetry.  There  are,  also, 
a  number  of  shelves  crowded  with  rare  works  and 
tracts  illustrative  of  Dutch  history  and  literature ; 
and  not  a  few  curiosities  which  would  make  the  eyes 
of  a  bibliomaniac  sparkle  with  delight  and,  perhaps, 
envy.  Indeed,  here,  as  in  many  other  private  col 
lections,  those  works  most  easily  obtained  are,  for 
the  reason  that  the  student  knows  where  to  procure 
them  readily,  not  in  the  same  abundance  as  those 
only  occasionally  met.  The  library-room  is  already 
filled  to  overflowing,  and  modem  literature  is  neces 
sarily  banished  to  another  part  of  the  house. 

But  the  most  distinctive  feature  of  this  library, 
and  one  which  has  beguiled  many  an  hour  for  its 
possessor  when  unfit  from  fatigue  for  more  laborious 
tasks,  is  its  Waltonian  department,  or  works  illus 
trative  of  good  Izaak  Walton  and  his  Complete 
Angler.  The  Doctor,  like  many  other  studious  and 
contemplative  men,  is  a  lover  of  the  angle;  and 
fondly  thinks  that  his  occasional  rambles  by  brook 


102  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

and  over  lakes,  sometimes  far  into  the  wilderness, 
have  not  a  little  contributed  to  the  robust  health 
and  cheerful  temper  which,  notwithstanding  his 
severe  studies  and  professional  engagements,  he  has 
been  blest  with.  Bookish  men  naturally  seek  recre 
ation  in  books ;  and,  as  naturally,  when  the  brain 
seeks  relief  from  overmuch  application,  in  amuse 
ments  with  books  which  occupy  without  straining 
the  mind.  In  this  manner,  during  the  darker  seasons 
of  the  year,  when  forbidden  the  actual  use  of  his 
rod,  our  friend  has  occupied  himself  with  excursions 
through  sale-catalogues,  fishing  out  from  their  dingy 
pages  whatever  tends  to  honor  his  favorite  author 
and  favorite  art,  so  that  his  spoils  now  number 
nearly  five  hundred  volumes  of  all  sizes  and  dates. 
Pains  have  been  taken  to  have,  not  only  copies  of 
the  works  included  by  the  list,. but  also  the  several 
editions ;  and,  Avhen  it  is  of  a  work  mentioned  by 
Walton,  an  edition  which  the  good  old  man  himself 
may  have  seen.  Thus  the  collection  has  all  the 
editions  of  Walton,  Colton,  and  Venables  in  exist 
ence,  and,  with  but  few  exceptions,  all  the  works 
referred  to  by  Walton,  or  which  tend  to  illustrate 
his  favorite  rambles  by  the  Lea  or  the  Dove.  Every 
scrap  of  Walton's  writing,  and  every  compliment 
paid  to  him,  have  been  carefully  gathered  and  gar 
nered  up,  with  prints  and  autographs  and  some 


REV.  DR.  BETHUNE'S  COLLECTION.  103 

precious  manuscripts.  Nor  does  the  department 
end  here ;  but  embraces  most  of  the  older  and 
many  of  the  modern  writers  on  Ichthyology  and 
angling.  It  contains  nearly  every  book  that  bears 
upon  angling,  in  English,  French,  German,  Italian, 
Latin  and  Greek.  With  some  of  these  last,  especial 
pains  have  been  taken,  e.  g.,  there  are  of  OPPIAN, 
the  editio  Princeps,  editio  Optima,  Aldine — French, 
English,  and  Italian  translations,  with  his  several 
commentators ;  so  of  Ausonius,  in  honor  of  his  Mo- 
sella,  the  Princeps,  Optima,  Aldine,  with  all  the 
translations  and  commentaries.  A  list  of  this  de 
partment  of  the  library  is  to  be  found  in  the  Ap 
pendix  to  the  American  edition  of  the  Angler,  and 
an  account  of  many  of  the  more  valuable  in  the 
bibliographical  preface  to  the  same  work,  of  which 
Dr.  Bethune  was  the  editor.*  Since  the  publication 
of  the  catalogue  referred  to,  the  collection  has 
been  considerably  increased,  although,  probably,  its 
owner,  partly  from  having  nearly  worked  out  the 
vein,  and  doubtless  from  the  increased  preference 
for  more  serious  occupations,  does  not  allow  him- 

*  The  annotations  to  this  work  are  by  far  the  most  complete  that 
have  yet  appeared,  and  exhibit  a  great  amount  of  research.  Jesse 
alludes  to  it  in  terms  of  commendation.  Unfortunately  the  introduc 
tion  of  some  English  plates  by  the  publisher,  prohibited  its  sale  in 
England,  and  it  is  consequently  not  as  well  known  there  as  in  the 
United  States. 


104  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

self  as  much  leisure  for  his  mania  as  hitherto ;  but, 
as  it  now  stands,  this  piscatorial  collection  is,  doubt 
less,  the  most  numerous  of  the  kind  in  the  world, 
and  but  for  the  lack  of  some  five  or  six  very  rare 
books  or  editions,  would  be  the  most  valuable. 
Many  of  the  volumes  are  rich  in  autographs,  man 
uscript  notes,  and  rare  or  beautiful  plates.  The 
general  reader  has  but  a  faint  knowledge  of  the 
beauty  of  some  of  these  piscatorial  treasures,  the 
gathering  of  which  has  been  the  more  difficult  and 
expensive,  because  antiquarian  collectors  have  a 
special  fondness  for  Angling  books,  and  many  of 
them  are  to  be  met  with  only  upon  the  breaking 
up  of  some  carefully  gathered  library,  rich  in  an 
tique  jewels. 


J.  CARSON  BREVOORT'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  Collection  contains  ten  thousand  volumes,  of 
which  nearly  six  thousand  were  brought  together 
by  the  late  Henry  Brevoort,  father  of  the  present 
owner.  The  foundation  of  that  portion  of  the 
library  collected  by  Henry  Brevoort  was  begun 
about  1810,  by  the  purchase  of  such  works  as  he 
desired  to  peruse,  and  they  were  gathered  together 
as  he  read  them.  He  rarely  bought  an  article  which 
was  simply  curious,  but  generally  based  his  selec 
tions  on  the  intrinsic  merit  of  the  work,  or  on  the 
information  contained  in  it,  which  might  be  useful 
for  reference. 

His  library  contained  the  principal  classical 
authors  who  had  written  in  English  or  French,  or 
whose  works  had  been  translated  into  these  lan 
guages,  and  included  the  works  of  the  most  esteemed 
historians,  philosophers,  poets  or  dramatists. 

He  attended  lectures  at  the  University  of  Edin 
burgh  in  1812-13,  and  at  that  time  became  ac 
quainted  with  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Wilson,  Jeifrey, 
14 


106  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

and  the  other  wits  and  learned  men  who  formed 
the  charmed  circle  in  the  midst  of  which  the  Great 
Unknown  appeared  as  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude. 
Sir  Walter  had  conceived  the  idea  of  writing 
some  work  requiring  a  full  knowledge  of  early  New 
England  history,  manners  and  customs,  and  an  ac 
quaintance  with  the  traits  and  characteristics  of  the 
tribes  of  American  Indians.  With  this  end  in  view, 
he  had  collected  a  number  of  the  curious  narratives 
of  the  early  settlers  and  travellers  in  that  part  of 
the  American  continent,  and  when  he  finally  aban 
doned  his  purpose,  he  presented  to  Mr.  Brevoort 
the  most  rare  and  curious  of  these  books,  among 
which  were :  Smith's  Virginia ;  The  Warres  of  New 
England  j  The  Simple  Cobbler  of  Aggawam;  and 
others.  Some  of  these  volumes  contain  his  auto 
graph,  and  the  note  which  accompanied  them  makes 
them  doubly  precious.  He  writes : 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — As  the  enclosed  Tracts  must  have 
more  interest  for  you  than  for  any  person  of  this 
country,  you  will  do  me  great  pleasure  by  accepting 
them  from  "Yours  truly, 

"W.  SCOTT. 
"Castle  Street, 
Saturday? 


MB.  BKEVOOKT'S  COLLECTION.  107 

The  value  of  these  tracts  may  be  judged  of  when 
it  is  observed  that  one  of  the  volumes  contains  the 
following  folio  pamphlets : 

1.  The  Present  State  of  New  England,  with  Re 
spect  to  the  Indian  War,  &c.     London,  1675,  pp.  19. 
At  page   12   of  this  narrative   the  following  droll 
anecdote  is  given:    "About   the    15th   of  August 
[1675],  Captain  Mosely,  with  sixty  men,  met  with  a 
company,  judged  about  three  hundred  Indians,  in  a 
plain  place  where  few  trees  were,  and  on  both  sides 
preparations  were  making  for  a  battle ;    all   being 
ready   on    both    sides    to    fight,    Captain    Mosely 
plucked  off  his  Periwig,  and  put  it  into  his  Breeches, 
because  it  should  not  hinder  him  in  fighting.     As 
soon  as  the  Indians  saw  that,  they  fell  a  howling  and 
yelling  most  hideously,  and  said,  Umli,  umh,  me  no 
-stawmerre  fight  Engis  mon,  Engis  mon  got  two  lied, 
Engis  mon  got  two  lied ;  if  me  cut  off  one  lied,  lie  get 
noder,  a  put  on  beder  as  dis ;  with  such  like  words 
in  broken  English,  and  away  they  all  fled  and  could 
not  be  overtaken,  nor  seen  any  more  afterwards." 

2.  A  New  and  Further  Narrative  of  the  State  of 
New  England,  Being  a  Continued  Account  of  the 
Bloudy  Indian- War,   &c.      London,    1676.      Title 
and  pp.  14. 

3.  A  True  Account  of  the  most  Considerable  Occur 
rences  that  have  hapned  in  the  Warre  between   the 


108  LI  BE  ARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

English  and  the  Indians  in  New-England,  &c. 
London,  1676.  Title  and  pp.  6.  The  above,  with 
two  others  on  the  same  subject,  are  reprinted  in 
Drakes  Indian  Chronicle.  Boston,  1836,  12 mo. 

Another  volume  contains  some  rare  pamphlets  in 
quarto,  such  as: 

1.  "A  History  of  New  England  from  1628   to 
1652.     London,  1654."    pp.  2,  236;    said  by  Prince 
to  have  been  written  by  Edward  Johnson,  of  Wo- 
burn,  N.  E.,  but  claimed  by  F.  Gorges  as  his  work. 

2.  A  Brief  History  of  the  War  with  the  Indian.? 
in  New  England,  &c.,  by  Increase  Mather.    London, 
1676.     pp.  6,  51,  8. 

3.  News  from  New-England,  &c.     London,  1676. 
pp.  1,  6. 

4.  A  Narrative  of  the  Troubles  witli  the  Indians 
in  New-England,  &c.,  by  W.  Hubbard.   Boston,  16 77. 
pp.  12,  132,  88,  12,  map  and  license. 

This  volume  has  Scott's  book-mark  on  the  back, 
which  was  a  portcullis,  and  the  inscription,  Clausus 
tutus  ero,  being  the  anagram  of  his  name  in  Latin, 
UUalterus  Scotvs. 

Still  another  volume  contains  the  English  edition 
of  the  curious  pamphlet  entitled,  "A  Short  Story  of 
the  Rise,  Reign,  and  Ruin  of  the  Antinomians, 
Familists,  and  Libertines  that  Infected  the  Churches 
of  New  England,  &c.,  &c.  London,  Tho.  Park- 


MR.  BKEVOORT'S  COLLECTION.  109 

hurst,  1692.  4to.,  pp.  18,  64.  This  edition  was 
got  up  by  Thos.  Wilde,  from  the  Boston  one  of 
1644. 

The  last  of  Scott's  Americana  here  noticeable  is 
a  copy  of  the  New  English  Canaan,  or  New  Ca 
naan.  Containing  an  Abstract  of  New  England, 
&c.,  &c.,  l)y  Thomas  Morton  of  Clifford's  Inne,  gent., 
upon  tenne  years  knowledge  and  experiment  of  the 
Country.  Amsterdam,  1637.  4t o. ,  pp.  1 8 8 ,  and  con 
tents,  pp.  4. 

For  an  account  of  this  "pestilent  fellow  and  his 
book"  as  he  is  styled  by  Nathaniel  Morton,  see  his 
New  Englands  Memorial,  edition  of  Boston,  1826,  p. 
136 ;  also  a  Review  of  it  by  the  Rev.  John  Eliot, 
in  the  Monthly  Anthology  for  June  and  July,  1810, 
and  Duyckinck's  Cyclopaedia,  I.,  28. 

Morton  came  out  in  the  Charity,  in  1625,  with 
Captain  Wollaston.  He  and  his  companions  settled 
at  Braintree,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Mount  Wol 
laston,  alias  " Merry  Mount"  but  the  pilgrims,  who 
rated  Master  Morton's  character  and  deeds  very  low, 
called  it  Mount  Dagon. 

The  incredible  story  told  on  page  108,  gave  rise 
to  the  lines  in  Hudibras ;  pt.  2,  canto  2,  409  : 

"  Our  brethren  of  New  England  use 
Choice  malefactors  to  excuse, 
And  hang  the  guiltless  in  their  stead,"  &c. 


110  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Irving  quotes  pt.  3  of  the  3d  book  in  his  Essay  on 
the  Indian  Character. 

The  whole  is  reprinted  in  Force's  Historical 
Tracts. 

Scott  was  particularly  interested  in  scenes  of 
American  life,  by  the  narrations  of  an  elder  rela 
tive,  who  had  spent  a  number  of  years  upon  the 
frontiers,  and  was  quite  familiar  with  the  Indian 
character  and  their  mythical  legends.  This  gentle 
man  had  a  peculiar  habit,  when  narrating  these  inci 
dents  of  border  life,  of  casting  from  time  to  time  a 
furtive  glance  over  his  shoulder,  as  if  to  satisfy  him 
self  that  the  savages  whose  exploits  he  was  describ 
ing  were  not  actually  in  pursuit  and  at  his  very 
heels.  Nothing  gave  the  great  novelist  more  pleas 
ure,  than  to  launch  his  not  unwilling  relative  into 
the  tide  of  Indian  story-telling,  and  then  quietly  to 
mark  the  unconscious  but  effective  pantomime  with 
which  he  gave  force  to  the  incidents  of  his  tale. 
Indeed,  so  strong  a  hold  had  these  incidents  taken 
upon  his  mind,  that  he  seriously  thought  of  visiting 
America  in  person,  and  of  examining  the  spots  for 
himself  whose  associations  had  taken  such  deep  root 
in  his  fancy.  Mr.  Brevoort  sent  a  bag  of  American 
acorns  to  Scott,  who  planted  them,  and  it  was  per 
haps  under  these  trees  that  Irving  and  his  host  took 
refuge  from  a  shower  at  Abbotsford. 


MR.  BREVOORT'S  COLLECTION.  Ill 

When  the  revolution  of  1830  produced  a  distress 
in  Paris  which  brought  a  number  of  fine  libraries  to 
the  hammer  of  the  auctioneer,  many  of  the  valuable 
works  in  the  present  collection  were  added  to  its 
shelves.  The  numerous  book  sales  that  followed 
the  cholera  visitation  of  1832,  proved  a  rich  field 
also  for  fine  books.  Of  these  is  a  fine  copy  of  the 
Musee  Frangais,  avant  la  lettre ;  the  Musee  Royal ; 
and  Viscontfs  Iconographie  Grecque  et  Romaine, 
in  seven  folio  volumes,*  which  contains  the  only  au 
thentic  portraits  of  the  ancients  that  have  been  pre 
served  by  means  of  statues,  bas-reliefs,  medals,  coins 
or  intaglios,  and  which  ought  to  be  consulted  by 
every  artist  who  wishes  to  get  the  likeness  of  the 
distinguished  men  or  women  of  antiquity.  Among 
other  works  of  this  class  in  the  library,  may  be 
named  BcwiUorts  Musee  des  Antiques,  in  3  vols. 
folio,  containing  engravings  in  shaded  outline  of 
over  seven  hundred  statues,  busts,  bas-reliefs,  altars, 
&c. ;  the  Galerie  de  Florence,  in  3  vols.  folio,  the 
Galerie  Crozat,  and  Leuchtenberg,  the  Voyage  Pitto- 
resque  de  Naples  et  de  Sidle,  by  St.  Non,  in  5  vols. 
folio,  the  Voyage  en  Grece  of  CJioiseuil  Gouffier, 
the  Voyage  en  Suisse,  Hwriboldfs  Atlas  Pitto- 
resque,  the  Memoires  de  V Academic  des  Inscriptions 


*  This  valuable  work  has  been  ceded  by  Mr.  Brevoort  to  the  Astor 
Library. 


112  LIBRARIES    OF    XEW    YORK. 

et  Belles-Lett  res,  in  about  fifty  quarto  volumes; 
Winckleman's  History  of  Art,  and  Stuart  and 
Revett's  Athens.  These  two  gentlemen  were  sent 
by  the  Dilettanti  Society  of  London  to  make 
accurate  measurements  of  the  ancient  edifices  of 
Athens,  and  executed  their  work  with  such  fidelity 
that  it  is  possible  from  their  drawings  to  erect 
a  modern  structure  with  the  same  proportions  as 
those  which  formerly  ornamented  the  Grecian  me 
tropolis. 

A  valuable  missal,  or  Livre  d^Heures,  was  pro 
cured  about  this  time,  written  in  the  XlVth  century, 
and  illuminated  with  seventy-two  exquisite  miniature 
paintings.  A  collection  of  line  engravings,  etchings 
and  lithographs,  have  been  also  brought  together 
by  the  former  and  present  owner  of  the  library, 
together  with  many  works  illustrating  the  history 
of  the  Fine  Arts. 

The  collection  contains  a  number  of  valuable 
autographs  and  manuscripts  presented  to  the  late 
owner  of  the  library — as  a  letter-book,  containing 
copies  of  the  correspondence  of  Captain  John  Paul 
Jones,  in  his  own  handwriting,  during  the  time  he 
commanded  the  Bonhomme  Richard  and  the  Alli 
ance.  Some  of  the  letters  have  been  copied  from 
this  collection,  and  published,  and  among  the  num 
ber,  the  celebrated  one  to  Lady  Stirling,  which  ac- 


MR.  BREVOORT'S  COLLECTION.  113 

companied  the  silver  his  sailors  had  taken  as  booty.* 
There  is  an  unpublished  letter  of  Voltaire's,  in  Eng 
lish,  apparently  addressed  to  Bolingbroke,  shortly 
after  the  return  of  Voltaire  from  his  exile  in  Eng 
land.  Buckle,  in  his  Introduction  to  the  History  of 
Civilization  in  England,  page  520,  says:  "There  are 
extant  many  Englisli  letters  'written  by  Voltaire, 
which,  though  of  course  containing  several  errors, 
also  contain  abundant  evidence  of  the  spirit  with 
which  he  seized  our  idiomatic  expressions."  Some 
portions  of  this  one  are  so  curious  that  no  apology 
is  necessary  for  giving  them  here. 

"PARIS,  13  May,  1732. 

"  I  thank  you  heartily  for  yr  charming  letter,  and 
for  the  Craftsman  you  send  me.  I  am  not  wholly 
displeased  to  see  that  my  works  are  now  and  then 
the  ground  upon  which  the  republicans  point  their 
artillery  against  ministery,  but  never  I  would  utter 
a  single  word  that  could  be  shocking  to  a  free  and 
generous  nation,  which  I  admire  which  I  regret,  and 
to  whom  I  am  indebted.  It  is  to  be  imputed  to  the 
printer  that  these  words  are  to  be  found  in  my 
preface:  Ces  Anglois  d"*  aujourdhui  ne  ressemblent 

*  The  most  valuable  and  extensive  collection  of  manuscript  letters 
of  Captain  John  Paul  Jones  in  existence,  is  in  the  library  of  Peter 
Force,  at  Washington. 

15 


114  LIBRARIES    OF    WEW    YOKK. 

pas  aux  Angloi'S  de  Cromwell.  He  should  have 
printed,  aux  fanatiques  de  Cromwell,  and  thus  it  is 
to  be  read  in  the  errata,  and  in  the  late  editions.  I 
intreat  you,  therefore,  to  clear  me  from  that  asper 
sion,  for  yr  friends  and  for  truths  sake  .... 
Yesterday  I  went  to  yr  divinity  Miss  Sale,  whom  I 
found  musing  with  y1'  brother  and  the  young  Ber 
nard.  She  complained  of  my  negligence  towards 
her  picture ;  Bernard  swore  he  had  wrote  nothing 
about  so  fair  a  subject ;  I  was  inspired  suddenly  by 
her  presence  and  I  broke  out  in  these  verses : 

Les  feux  du  dieu  que  sa  vertu  condamnc 
Sont  dans  ses  yeux,  a  son  coeur  inconnus, 
En  soupirant  on  la  prend  pour  Diane 
Qui  vient  danser  sous  les  Traits  de  Venus. 

Eriphile  has  not  been  rewarded  with  a  great  success. 
I  was  ready  to  give  it  to  the  press,  but  this  very 
hour  I  am  determined  not  even  to  print  it,  at  least 
to  let  it  wait  in  my  closet,  till  I  may  turn  a  fresh 
eye  upon  it,  and  make  new  corrections  with  a  cool 
head  .  .  .  ." 

A  characteristic  letter  of  Israel  Putnam's,  written 
in  September,  1776,  to  Washington,  begins:  "Dear 
ginrol"  and  winds  up  with  complaining  of  the  crews 
of  some "  roo  galles"  which  " ware  paraded  by  my 
quartorsfor  2  or  3  Iwurs  and  then  went  tliare  way, 


ME.    BREVOORTS    COLLECTION.  115 

I  ut  I  heleav  ihay  never  intend  to  go  and  I  never  in 
tend  to  Plag  myself  any  mor  about  them? 

Some  interesting  manuscripts  relate  to  the  first 
explorations  of  the  French  in  Louisiana,  and  oth 
ers  to  the  early  history  of  Connecticut.  A  letter 
from  Thomas  Jefferson  to  Robert  Patterson,  dated 
March  2,  1803,  contains  some  curious  data  relating 
to  our  first  explorations  of  the  Great  West.  He  in 
troduces  Captain  Lewis,  and  begs  Patterson  to  in 
struct  the  daring  explorer  "  in  taking  observations  to 
fix  the  points  of  tlie  line  lie  will  pass  over"  and  "  to 
keep  tlie  matter  private  until  lie  should  have  got  be 
yond  the  reach  of  any  obstacles  prepared  for  him  by 
those  who  would  not  like  the  enterpriser 

There  is  also  a  letter  from  Hannah  Arnold,  the 
mother  of  Benedict  Arnold,  addressed  to  her  son 
while  yet  in  youth,  urging  him  to  the  fear  of  God, 
and  honesty  of  purpose  in  his  transactions  with 
his  fellow-men,  which  furnishes  affecting  proof  of 
the  good  principles  which  this  affectionate  parent 
strove  to  instil  into  the  breast  of  a  son,  whose 
unblushing  treachery  is  the  chief  blot  that  mars 
the  pure  escutcheon  of  the  revolutionary  band  of 
heroes  that  centred  around  the  immortal  Washing 
ton.  But  by  far  the  most  valuable  manuscript  in 
the  collection  is  a  diary  kept  by  Washington,  in 
his  own  handwriting,  from  October  1st,  IT 89,  to 


116  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

March  10th,  1790,  while  the  seat  of  government  was 
in  New  York,  and  the  President  resided  here.* 

At  the  decease  of  the  elder  Mr.  Brevoort,  in 
1848,  the  library  passed  by  bequest  into  the  hands 
of  the  present  possessor,  and  is  now  at  his  residence 
in  the  suburbs  of  Brooklyn. 

The  additions  made  since  then,  besides  contribu 
tions  to  the  previous  collection,  consist  of  works 
which  illustrate  the  progress  of  geographical  discov 
ery  in  America — such  as  maps,  narrations,  topo 
graphical  memoirs,  and  natural  history,  especially 
American  zoology,  each  of  which  subjects  is  pretty 
well  represented.  There  are  a  large  number  of 
works  illustrative  of  local  American  history,  and 
numerous  pamphlets  of  more  or  less  historic  value, 
elucidating  particular  subjects,  and  essential  in 
aiding  to  develop  those  of  a  more  general  nature. 

Among  the  works  relating  to  America,  are 
those  of  Peter  Martyr,  Ramusius,  Hakluyt,  of 
the  editions  of  1589,  and  of  1599-1600,  as  well  as 
the  new  edition  in  quarto ;  Purchas's  Voyages,  in 
five  folio  volumes ;  the  works  of  the  Spanish  histo 
rians  Herrera,  Torquemada,  Clavigero,  and  De  la 
Vega,  and  those  of  Ternaux,  Creuxius,  Charlevoix, 
Kingsborough,  and  eleven  parts  of  De  Bry,  with 

*  100  copies  of  this  manuscript  have  been  printed  for  private  dis 
tribution  by  a  printing  club,  and  100  for  Mr.  Brovoort. 


MR.  BREVOORT'S  COLLECTION. 


many  others  of  a  like  character,  all  of  which  are 
indispensable  to  a  student  of  American  history  or 
geography.  In  Creuxius  is  an  engraving  represent 
ing  the  gar-pike,  or  alligator-gar,  of  the  lakes,  being 
the  first  notice  ever  given  of  this  fish,  which  is 
remarkable  for  the  exaggerated  description  of  its 
habits  and  peculiarities. 

The  collection  of  voyages  embraces  those  of  Pink- 
erton,  Knox,  Burney,  Dalrymple,  Dampier,  Hawkes- 
worth,  Ogilby,  Prevost's  Histoire  General  de-s  Voy 
ages,  in  eighteen  quarto  volumes,  and  a  large  number 
of  the  narratives  of  the  early  Dutch  navigators. 

Amonor  the  larger  and  less  known  collections  of 

O  O 

voyages,  may  be  named  the  one  known  as  Gott 
fried's,  or  Vander  Aa's,  Zee  en  Landreisen,  in  eight 
folio  volumes,  IT  2  7  ;  Valentyn's  Oud  en  Nieuw  Oost 
Indien,  in  5  vols.,  folio,  1724-26  ;  and  Hartgert's 
rare  collection,  in  one  quarto,  Amsterdam,  1648. 

A  very  large  number  of  charts,  maps  and  atlases, 
published  at  various  times,  serve  to  illustrate  these 
various  narratives  more  fully.  The  recently  pub 
lished  fac-similes  of  old  charts  in  Munich,  relating 
to  America,  by  Kunstmann,  bring  the  subject  down 
to  the  latest  date.  The  first  known  chart  of  the 
discoveries  of  Columbus  and  his  successors,  is  that 
of  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  of  1504,  which  was  found  in 
Baron  Walckenaer's  library  by  Humboldt,  and  a 


118  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

reduced  copy  of  it  was  published  in  his  Examen 
Critique  de  la  Geographic  du  Nouveau  Continent.  On 
it  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  is  not  indicated,  and  the 
then  unknown  region  about  it  is  covered  by  the 
title  of  the  map.  The  original  was  purchased  at 
the  sale  of  Walckenaer's  library  for  the  Spanish 
government  at  a  very  high  price. 

Most  of  the  government  and  state  publications 
embracing  geographical  or  geological  reports  and 
surveys  within  this  continent,  have  been  also  brought 
together. 

Not  the  least  interesting  feature  of  this  depart 
ment  of  the  collection,  is  a  complete  set  of  all  the 
narratives  of  voyages  and  travels  to  the  Arctic  and 
Antarctic  regions,  commencing  with  those  of  Fro- 
bisher,  Luke  Foxe,  Martens,  Pontoppidan,  and  Hans 
Egede,  and  terminating  with  the  recent  ones  of 
Belcher,  McClure,  Kane,*  and  McClintock.  There 


*  Upon  the  return  of  Dr.  Kane  from  his  last  Arctic  exploration,  the 
writer,  who  has  spent  much  time  in  investigating  the  subject  of  gla 
ciers  in  the  more  temperate  latitudes,  and  especially  in  Switzerland, 
expressed  to  this  intrepid  voyageur  the  hope  that  ho  head  returned 
from  this  field  of  research — where  nature  had  displayed  herself  in 
such  magnificent  proportions,  and  where  the  glaciers  tower  like  huge 
mountains  in  comparison  with  those  which  the  scientific  man  has 
ordinarily  an  opportunity  of  examining — laden  with  new  and  valuable 
contributions  to  science  in  this  particular  department  of  research,  and 
intimated  that  he  would  look  with  great  interest  for  his  forthcoming 
work  on  this  subject. 

41  In  this,"  remarked  Dr.  Kane,   "I  fear  you  will  be  greatly  mis- 


MR.  BKEVOOKT'S  COLLECTION.  119 

is  among  them  an  apparently  unpublished  manu 
script  narrative  of  the  voyage  of  Parry,  in  1821 
to  '23,  penned  by  Dr.  Alexander  Fisher,  who  also 
accompanied  this  successful  Arctic  navigator  in  1819. 

Among  the  curiosities  of  the  Pacific  voyages,  is  a 
set  of  unpublished  views,  about  seventy -five  in  num 
ber,  taken  by  Humphries  and  Sykes,  the  artists  who 
accompanied  Vancouver  in  his  admirably  conducted 
voyage  of  survey,  and  which  are  not  included  in 
the  atlas  accompanying  the  narrative. 

The  collection  contains  all  the  published  maps 
made  by  these  various  navigators,  as  well  as  the 
Parliamentary  books  relating  to  Arctic  explorations. 

Another  group  includes  most  of  the  publications 

taken.  That  I  have  availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  which  this 
high  northern  voyage  afforded  me  of  noting  the  phenomena  of  the 
glaciers,  is  true ;  and  that  I  have  made  what  I  believe  to  be  new  con 
tributions  to  science,  notwithstanding  the  labors  of  my  predecessors 
in  the  Arctic  regions,  and  of  Carpentier,  Desor,  Agassiz,  and  Forbes, 
in  lower  latitudes,  is  equally  true ;  but  while  I  have  merely  glanced 
at  these  results,  in  the  narrative  about  to  appear,  I  have  reserved  the 
facts  and  details  for  a  scientific  memoir  on  the  glaciers,  which  I 
shall  ask  to  be  detached  from  other  service  for  a  year  to  prepare." 

He  proffered,  at  the  same  time,  his  private  memoranda  on  this 
subject,  for  the  use  of  the  writer,  in  such  investigations  as  immedi 
ately  engaged  him,  in  advance  of  the  appearance  of  the  anticipated 
memoir.  The  narrative,  with  its  adventures  and  its  results,  is  before 
the  public.  The  memoir  was  probably  never  begun,  and  in  all 
likelihood,  the  notes  left  by  l)r.  Kane  require  so  much  of  his  own 
personal  recollections  to  complete  them,  that  they  may  never  be  put 
to  the  purpose  intended,  or  if  so,  they  would  not  render  full  justice 
to  his  memory. 


120  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

relating  to  Japan.  This  department  is  wanting  in 
a  complete  set  of  Siebold's  Nippon ;  some  portions 
of  this  great  work  are  however  present.  In  narra 
tives  of  journeys  in  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  the 
collection  is  tolerably  well  furnished.  The  subject 
of  geography  is  farther  completed  by  many  works 
on  navigation,  of  old  date,  and  by  geographical 
periodicals. 

Among  the  early  works  relating  to  New  York,  is 
a  good  copy  of  the  Beschryvinge  van  Nienw-Ne- 
derlant,  by  Vanderdonck,  published  in  1655,  and  of 
the  very  rare  Korte  Ilistoriael  ende  Journaels,  by 
David  Pietersz  De  Vries,  published  in  the  same  year. 
The  translation  of  De  Vries,  by  H.  C.  Murphy,  hand 
somely  printed  for  private  circulation,  is  likewise  in 
the  collection,  besides  several  other  works  of  rarity 
or  value,  relating  to  New  York  as  a  Dutch  colony. 
There  are  reprints  on  a  still  more  costly  scale,  of  the 
narratives  of  De  Soto  and  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  translated 
by  Buckingham  Smith,  and  printed  at  the  expense 
of  George  W.  Riggs,  of  Washington,  and  like  those 
already  noticed,  intended  for  private  circulation.  Mr. 
Smith  has  been  recently  engaged  in  making  histori 
cal  researches  at  Madrid,  in  early  Spanish  discoveries 
on  this  continent.  The  field  is  a  fertile  and  impor 
tant  one,  and  promises  many  valuable  additions  to 
American  documentary  history. 


MR.  BEEVOORT'S  COLLECTION.  121 

Next  to  voyages  and  travels,  the  main  feature  of 
the  collection  consists  in  works  on  natural  history, 
among  which  the  general  systematic  writers  are 
fairly  represented.  Of  the  twelve  editions  of  the 
works  of  Linnaeus,  eight  are  in  the  collection.  All 
of  the  editions  of  this  great  naturalist  are  not  equal 
ly  valuable.  Those  which  were  edited  by  himself 
are  known,  as  the  first  of  Ley  den,  1735,  the  second, 
sixth,  eighth,  tenth  and  twelfth  of  Stockholm,  with 
the  respective  dates  of  1740,  '48,  '53,  '58  and  '66. 
The  eighth  treats  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  only. 
There  is  a  copy  of  Buffon,  in  forty-four  quarto  vol 
umes,  and  likewise  one  in  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  volumes  octavo ;  Shaw,  in  forty  volumes  octa 
vo;  and  the  works  of  Klein,  who  made  a  severe 
attack  upon  Linnaeus ;  in  return  for  which,  the  lat 
ter  has  failed  to  introduce  his  name  in  his  works ; 
hence,  while  his  more  fortunate  rival  has  risen  to 
the  highest  pinnacle  of  scientific  fame,  the  name  of 
Klein,  though  an  estimable  naturalist,  is  seldom  re 
ferred  to,  or  scarcely  remembered. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  volumes  of  the 
transactions  of  natural  history  societies,  among 
which  are  the  Memoir  es  du  Musee  dHistoire 
Naturelle  from  their  commencement,  in  more  than 
forty  quarto  volumes ;  Oken's  ./$£<?,  in  forty-one 
quartos;  the  Annales  des  Sciences  Naturelles,  of 


LIBKAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 


France,  in  eighty  volumes  octavo  ;  the  A.rchiv  fur 
NatiiTgescliiclite  of  Germany,  and  the  annals  and 
magazines  of  natural  history  that  have,  from  time 
to  time,  appeared  in  the  English  language,  together 
with  many  transactions  of  societies  both  at  home 
and  abroad. 

In  Ichthyology,  however,  the  collection  is  most 
complete.  In  this  department  is  to  be  found,  with 
a  few  exceptions,  whatever  has  appeared  either  in 
the  form  of  systematic  treatises,  prize  essays,  or  de 
tached  papers.  These  include  Bloch's  large  work 
in  twelve  folio  volumes,  usually  published  in  six  ; 
those  of  Gesner,  Aldrovandus,  Belon,  Rondelet, 
Willoughby,  Klein,  and  Salviani,  the  last  of  which 
is  exceedingly  rare. 

With  Artedi  and  Linnaeus  a  new  and  simple  no 
menclature  was  introduced,  by  means  of  which  nat 
ural  history  was  enabled  to  advance  with  far  more 
rapid  strides  than  it  had  hitherto  taken,  but  it  re 
mained  for  Cuvier  to  perfect  the  work  of  his  prede 
cessors,  by  arranging  animals  in  natural  families,  and 
defining  the  genera  from  characteristics  developed 
both  by  the  internal  and  external  anatomical  struc 
ture.  All  of  the  works  exhibiting  these  advances 
are  in  the  collection.  Indeed,  there  is  scarcely  a 
scrap  of  Cuvier's  writings  which  has  been  made 
public  that  is  not  to  be  found  here,  and  among  the 


MR.  BREVOORT'S  COLLECTION.  123 

rest,  the  three  editions    of  his   Ossemens  Fossiles 
and  of  his  Hegne  Animal. 

There  is  likewise  a  copy  of  the  great  work  on 
fishes,  begun  by  Cuvier  in  1829,  in  conjunction  with 
Valenciennes,  and  continued  by  the  latter  until  with 
in  a  very  recent  date.  The  work  has  already  reached 
its  twenty-second  volume,  and  terminates  with  the 
description  of  the  Clupeidce.  The  immense  expendi. 
ture  of  labor  and  money  which  it  has  already  cost, 
may  be  judged  of  from  the  circumstance  that  it 
describes  about  six  thousand  distinct  species,  being 
fully  one-third  more  than  were  ever  before  described, 
besides  the  accompaniment  of  an  engraved  figure  of 
at  least  one  species  of  each  genus.  This  department 
also  includes  the  valuable  work  of  Agassiz  and  Spix, 
on  the  fishes  of  Brazil ;  that  of  Temminck  and  Schle- 
gel,  on  the  fishes  of  Japan;  Miiller  and  Henles' 
Plagiostomes ;  Agassiz's  Poisson$  Fossiles  in  six 
folio  volumes ;  and  his  Embryology,  and  plates  of 
the  Salmonidce. 

The  works  on  Natural  History  chiefly  relating  to 
Zoology,  number  about  two  thousand  volumes,  be 
sides  some  four  hundred  pamphlets,  of  which  about 
two  hundred  are  on  Ichthyology. 

Most  of  the  works  which  treat  of  the  study  of 
nature  as  a  pastime,  are  in  the  collection.  The  ma 
jority  of  these  are  by  English  authors.  It  is  re- 


124  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

markable  that  so  few  of  other  nations  have  seemed 
to  delight  to  study  nature  in  the  field,  so  that,  if 
called  upon  to  judge  of  the  comparative  taste  for 
such  pursuits  by  the  published  books  on  the  subject, 
it  would  seem  that  the  English  far  exceed  all  other 
people  in  a  real  love  for  nature  and  her  works.  But 
two  works  of  the  kind  have  been  written  by  Ameri 
cans,  if  we  except  those  of  the  ornithologists  Wilson 
and  Audubon,  both  ardent  lovers  of  nature ;  name 
ly,  Godman's  Rambles  of  a  Naturalist,  and  Miss 
Cooper's  Rural  Hours.  Some  articles  recently  pub 
lished  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  prove  that  there 
are,  however,  students  here  who  appreciate  these 
pleasant  themes,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  taste 
for  them  will  grow  with  time.  The  direct  study  of 
animals  in  their  native  state,  or  even  in  an  easy  cap 
tivity,  reveals  many  a  curious  secret  relating  to  their 
habits,  loves  or  instincts,  or,  which  is  more  impor 
tant,  concerning  their  possible  use  to  man.  This 
subject  would  be  greatly  developed,  were  it  possible 
to  carry  out  the  proposed  project  of  a  Zoological 
garden  in  the  Central  Park,  intended  to  be  devoted 
chiefly  to  the  animals  of  this  continent. 


JOSHUA  BROOKES'S  LIBRARY. 


MR.  BROOKES'S  collection  is  one  of  the  largest  in 
the  city,  and  numbers  about  fourteen  thousand  vol 
umes.  The  foundation  of  this  library  was  laid  in 
1783,  while  its  proprietor  was  yet  a  youth,  in  London, 
by  the  purchase  of  Ferguson's  Astronomy,  which  vol 
ume  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  library.  The  purchase 
of  this  work  was  soon  after  followed  by  that  of  Dr. 
Priestley's  works,  which  were  carefully  read  by  Mr. 
Brookes  before  he  had  attained  the  age  of  manhood. 
The  library  contains  a  fair  collection  of  works  on 
History,  Travels,  Science  and  Art,  including  Agri 
culture,  Botany,  Chemistry,  and  Natural  History, 
Theology,  Natural  Theology,  Biography,  Poetry,  the 
Drama,  Political  Economy,  Commerce,  Trade,  Law 
and  Medicine. 

Almost  every  nation  is  represented  by  a  number 
of  special  Historical  works,  having  direct  reference 
to  them,  among  which  are  the  works  of  Polybius, 
Herodotus,  Tlmcydides  and  Xenophon;  Arnold's 
and  Mebuhr's  Rome,  Buck's  Ruins  of  Ancient  Cities, 


126  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Athenian  Letters,  and  Histoire  Universelle  by 
Diodorus  the  Sicilian.  The  histories  of  England, 
France,  Austria,  Holland,  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal, 
Denmark,  Iceland,  Russia,  Poland,  Turkey,  Egypt, 
China,  the  Indies,  North  and  South  America,  and 
most  of  the  Asiatic  nations,  are  sufficiently  com 
plete  to  give  a  fair  account  of  each,  and  collectively 
form  a  class  which  contains  about  one  thousand  vol 
umes.  Of  the  works  of  travels  are  Burckhardt's 
Nubia,  Purchas's  Pilgrims,  Astley's  collection  of  voy 
ages  and  travels,  4  vols.  4to.,  and  Brocquiere's  Pal 
estine,  published  in  1492.  The  manuscript  of  this 
work  is  in  the  " Bibliotlieqiie  Nationale"  at  Paris. 
It  was  translated  into  French  by  Legrand  d'Aussy, 
and  with  a  preliminary  discourse  was  read  before  the 
French  Institute,  and  is  to  be  found  in  the  fifth  vol 
ume  of  the  "  J\femoire>$  de  Tlnstitut"  printed  in 
1804.  A  fine  copy  of  Busquebi's  Turkey,  which 
appeared  in  1582,  is  also  in  this  collection,  as  well 
as  Wright's  Travels  in  France  and  Italy,  in  which  is 
given  a  full  account  of  the  rite  of  circumcision. 

Among  the  works  on  Science,  including  those  on 
Natural  History,  Philosophy,  and  kindred  subjects, 
are  a  large  number  of  treatises  upon  Quadrupeds  in 
general,  and  on  the  horse,  the  sheep,  and  the  dog  in 
particular,  including  those  of  Brown,  Jesse,  Bingley, 
Skinner,  Taylor,  Youatt  and  Keeper ;  a  considerable 


ME.    BROOKES  S    COLLECTION.  127 

number  of  works  devoted  to  Ichthyology,  Conchology, 
and  Ornithology,  among  which  are  Sowerby's  Con 
chology,  Spallanzani's  Tracts  on  Natural  History, 
Audubon's  birds,  and  the  works  of  Cuvier ;  also  Go- 
guet's  Origin  of  Laws,  Arts,  and  Sciences,  Donne's 
Catalogue  of  Plants,  published  in  Cambridge  (Eng 
land)  in  1635,  Bay's  Deluge,  Maillet  on  the  Diminu 
tion  of  the  Sea,  and  the  Speculum  Mundi,  containing 
some  curious  speculations  concerning  early  geology 
and  particularly  the  first  days  of  creation,  as  detailed 
in  the  book  of  Genesis.  In  this  connection  may  be 
mentioned  Desagulier's  Natural  Philosophy,  which, 
on  account  of  its  inductions,  occupies  a  place  between 
strict  Science  and  Natural  Theology. 

The  Theological  department  contains  between 
thirteen  and  fourteen  hundred  volumes,  among  which 
are  the  works  of  Fenelon,  Pascal,  Erasmus,  Neander, 
Priestley,  Necker,  Lord  Kames,  Plato's  Dialogues  on 
the  Soul,  and  Death  of  Socrates,  Mirabeau's  System 
of  Nature,  Vandermat's  Meditations  on  Communion, 
Jahn's  Arclu&olocjia  J3iblica,  and  a  singular  work 
with  the  affected  title  of  "A  Godlie  and  Learned 
Exposition  upon  the  Whole  Epistle  of  Jude"  by 
William  Parker,  published  at  London  in  1606. 
This  work,  with  several  others  from  his  pen,  was 
translated  into  the  Dutch  language,  and  drew  upon 
him  a  furious  attack  from  Arminius,  which  finally 


128  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

resulted  in  the  convocation  of  the  Synod  of  Dort. 
There  is  in  this  department  a  large  folio  work  by 
Torquemada,  containing  Dialogues  on  Religious 
Subjects,  &c.,  published  in  1480.  This  work  is  very 
rare. 

In  the  collection  is  a  quarto  Bible  (duplum  Bib- 
liotkecce  Hegiw  Monacensis),  published  in  1529,  an 
edition  in  French,  published  in  1561,  and  the  Apoc 
rypha  and  Psalms,  published  in  1618.  The  collec 
tion  of  sermons  is  respectable,  and  includes  those  of 
Kenrick,  Knox,  Massilon,  Archbishop  Tillotson, 
Jeremy  Taylor  and  Sydney  Smith. 

One  of  the  most  notable  works  in  the  collection 
on  Natural  Theology,  is  Nieuwentyt's  Religious  Phi 
losopher.  The  author  of  this  work  was  born  at 
Westgroofdyck,  in  North  Holland,  educated  for  the 
medical  profession,  acquired  great  personal  distinc 
tion,  and  died  in  1718.  He  united,  in  an  eminent 
degree,  the  contemplations  of  the  philosopher  with 
a  hiovh  religious  sentiment.  He  wrote  several  works, 

o  o 

all  of  which  are  tinged  with  this  religio-philosophic 
cast.  The  Religious  Philosopher  was  translated  into 
English  by  Chamberlayne,  himself  a  distinguished 
scholar  and  author,  and  produced  a  profound  sensa 
tion,  on  account  of  the  remarkable  identity  found  to 
exist  between  the  reasonings  adduced  and  those 
adopted  by  Paley  in  his  Natural  Theology,  written 


MR.    BROCKETS    COLLECTION.  129 

after  the  appearance  of  Nieuwentyt's  work,  and 
before  its  translation  by  Chamberlayne.  The  simi 
larity  of  reasoning  in  these  two  works  is  so  remark 
able,  and  those  chains  of  deduction  which  had  won 
for  Paley  his  highest  renown  are  so  fully  developed 
in  the  Religious  Philosopher,  that  Paley  was  at  once 
charged  with  the  grossest  plagiarism,  with  what 
truth,  those  who  have  now  an  opportunity  of  exam 
ining  the  works  of  this  eminent  writer,  in  connection 
with  Meuwentyt's,  can  best  determine  for  them 
selves.  When  this  alleged  plagiarism  was  first  dis 
covered,  but  five  or  six  copies  of  the  translation  could 
be  discovered  in  London,  and  the  one  in  the  poses- 
sion  of  the  British  Museum  was  fairly  besieged  with 
readers.  JSTo  work,  for  the  moment,  was  in  such 
demand,  and  fortunate  was  he  who  happily  possessed 
a  copy.  A  new  edition  was  hurried  through  the 
press  to  meet  this  demand  in  1723,  three  years  after 
the  appearance  of  the  first,  and  a  subsequent  one  in 
1730.  Mr.  Brookes  possesses  the  first  of  these  edi 
tions,  a  copy  of  the  second  was  presented  by  him  to 
the  Meadville  College  Library,  and  the  third  is  to 
be  found  in  the  New  York  Society  Library. 

Another  interesting  wrork,  which  is  also  in  the 
Society  Library's  collection  as  well  as  in  that  of  Mr. 
Brookes,  is  the  Miscellanea  Curiosa,  containing  a 

collection  of  the  curious   voyages  and   discoveries 
17 


130  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

made  by  travellers,  and  communicated  to  the  Royal 
Society.  This  work  appeared  in  separate  volumes 
at  different  times,  the  first  being  published  in  1723, 
and  the  last  in  1727.  The  Miscellanea  Guriosa 
contains  an  account  of  the  trade- winds,  from  obser 
vations  made  by  Captain  Edward  Halley,  accompa 
nied  by  a  chart  showing  their  usual  direction. 
These  observations,  and  the  chart  which  accompa 
nies  them,  are  matters  of  much  interest,  not  on  ac 
count  of  their  accuracy,  but  of  the  entire  absence  of 
all  exact  knowledge  concerning  them  possessed  by 
the  first  maritime  power  and  one  of  the  most  learned 
societies  in  the  world,  at  a  period  as  recent  as  1723. 
When  Franklin  was  in  London,  some  years  later,  as 
the  agent  of  the  colonies,  his  attention  was  directed 
to  the  course  of  the  trade-wind  upon  the  Atlantic, 
by  the  Admiralty  office,  in  a  manner  which  resulted 
in  first  delineating  its  true  course.  It  was  found 
that  the  English  vessels  bound  for  the  port  of  New 
York  were  invariably  two  or  three  weeks  longer  in 
making  this  voyage  than  the  American  vessels, 
which  usually  sailed  to  and  from  Newport,  although 
the  latter  were  inferior  and  had  smaller  crews.  The 
purpose  of  consulting  Franklin  was  to  ascertain  the 
cause  of  this,  and  also  to  obtain  his  advice  as  to  the 
propriety  of  making  Newport  the  port  for  the  Eng 
lish  ships,  instead  of  New  York.  Franklin,  who 


MR.    BROOKES'S    COLLECTION.  131 

was  in  ignorance  as  to  the  true  cause  of  the  differ 
ence  in  time  between  the  sailing  of  the  two  classes 
of  vessels,  consulted  a  Nantucket  sea-captain,  then 
in  London,  who  informed  him  that  it  was  not 
due  to  any  obstruction  which  New  York  pre 
sented  as  a  harbor  to  sailing  vessels,  but  to  the 
superior  knowledge  of  the  "  Yankee  skippers  "  over 
the  "  English  captains  "  concerning  the  true  course 
of  the  winds,  induced  by  the  now  of  the  Gulf 
Stream,  by  which  means  the  American  vessels  were 
enabled  to  avoid  the  strong  westerly  winds  on  their 
return  passage,  while  the  English  were  for  weeks 
contending  in  its  teeth.  With  a  map  before  them, 
the  course  of  the  Gulf  Stream  and  its  accompanying 
trade-wind  was  laid  down  for  the  first  time.  Frank 
lin  had  a  number  of  maps  with  this  delineation 
struck  off  and  distributed  at  his  own  expense.  The 
English  government  prudently  adopted  the  sugges 
tion  made  to  them  by  Franklin,  the  time  required  for 
the  voyage  was  shortened,  and  the  trade  of  New  York, 
wliicli  was  just  upon  the  point  of  being  transferred  to 
a  sister  town,  was  preserved.  It  is  worthy  of  re 
mark  that,  notwithstanding  the  careful  observations 
which  have  since  made  the  winds  of  the  Atlantic 
as  familiar  as  those  upon  either  continent,  the  first 
tracing  of  this  current  by  the  Nantucket  captain  is 
as  accurate  in  most  of  its  particulars  as  if  it  had 


132  LIBKAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

emanated  from  the  "  Department  at  Washington  " 
but  yesterday.* 

Among  the  works  of  Biography  are  North's  Plu 
tarch,  D'Alembert's  Eulogies,  Kings  of  France,  Ful 
ler's  Worthies  of  England,  Grainger's  Biographical 
History  of  England,  from  Egbert  to  1688 ;  4to., 
London,  1804,  and  Scott's  Worthies. 

There  is  a  fair  collection  of  works  on  the  Fine 
Arts,  including  Burrow's  Elgin  Marbles,  Flaxman's 
Lectures  on  Sculpture,  Seeley's  Temple  of  Eloro, 
Pope's  Costumes  of  the  Ancients,  and  the  works  of 
Barry  and  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 

There  is  a  fair  collection  of  Dramatic  works,  a 
good  one  of  Poetry,  and  many  on  Annuities,  Her 
aldry,  Chirography,  Wonders,  Fairy  Tales,  Remark 
able  Characters,  Games  of  Chance,  including  some 
valuable  treatises  on  the  doctrine  of  probabilities ; 
some  on  Cookery;  an  excellent  collection  relating 
to  Common  School  Education,  including  the  works 
of  Rousseau,  Fordyce  and  Williams,  embracing  a 
pretty  full  account,  from  the  beginning  of  the  Lan- 
casterian  system  to  the  present  time ;  a  large  number 
of  Dictionaries  upon  most  subjects,  embracing  two 
hundred  different  works ;  some  documents  contem- 

*  The  writer  is  indebted  for  this  anecdote  to  Professor  Bache,  the 
distinguished  descendant  of  Franklin,  and  believes  that  it  is  not  pub 
lished  in  any  account  of  his  life. 


ME.    BKOOKESS    COLLECTION.  133 

porary  with  the  Revolution,  including  Rivington's 
New  York  Gazette,  which  advocated  the  claims  of 
the  English  in  America,  on  which  account  its  editor 
was  obliged  to  flee,  upon  the  success  of  the  American 
cause,  Thomas's  Massachusetts  Spy,  and  several  Poor 
Richard's  Almanacs,  printed  by  Franklin,  a  collection 
of  which  was  purchased  at  the  sale  of  the  late  Mr. 
Corwin's  library  (supposed  to  be  for  the  British 
Museum)  at  $62. 

The  collection  differs  from  others  in  possessing 
a  Juvenile  Department,  or  one  containing  works 
adapted  to  the  age  and  tastes  of  children,  which  is 
by  no  means  a  contemptible  one,  either  as  to  num 
bers  or  the  character  of  the  works.  No  attention 
has  been  paid  to  appearance  in  binding  or  arrange 
ment,  and  it  might  easily  happen  that  a  person 
accustomed  to  the  carefully-arranged  copies  of 
splendid'  works  in  private  libraries  might  be  dis 
appointed  in  this ;  but  while  it  makes  no  preten 
sions  to  rare  or  curious  works,  and  does  not  aim  to 
be  complete  in  any  department,  it  is  yet  one  in 
which  the  general  reader  will  find  much  to  interest 
and  instruct  him,  and  there  are  few  subjects  upon 
which  he  cannot  obtain  a  fair  amount  of  information 
in  one  or  the  other  of  its  numerous  classes. 

Notwithstanding  its  present  size,  it  was  dimin 
ished  somewhat  a  few  years  since  by  a  donation  of 


134  LIBKAKIES    OF    NEW    YOBK. 

between  two  and  three  thousand  volumes  made  to 
the  Meadville  College,  an  establishment  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Unitarian  denomination  in  the  state 
of  Pennsylvania.  The  collection  as  it  now  stands 
would  make  a  very  valuable  public  library  for  a 
town  of  ten  or  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants. 


WM.  E.  BURTON'S  LIBRARY. 


ME.  BURTON'S  library  contains  nearly  sixteen  thou 
sand  volumes.  Its  proprietor  had  constructed  for 
its  accommodation  and  preservation  a  three-story  fire 
proof  building,  about  thirty-five  feet  square,  which 
is  isolated  from  all  other  buildings,  and  is  connected 
with  his  residence  in  Hudson-street  by  a  conserva 
tory  gallery.  The  chief  library  room  occupies  the 
upper  fioor  of  this  building,  and  is  about  twenty-five 
feet  in  height.  Its  ceiling  presents  a  series  of  groined 
rafters,  after  the  old  English  style,  in  the  centre  of 
which  rises  a  dome  skylight  of  stained  glass.  The 
sides  of  the  library  are  fitted  up  with  thirty-six  oak 
bookcases  of  a  Gothic  pattern,  which  entirely  sur 
round  it,  and  are  nine  feet  in  height.  The  space 
between  the  ceiling  and  the  bookcases  is  filled  with 
paintings,  for  the  most  part  of  large  size,  and  said  to 
be  of  value.  Specimens  of  armor  and  busts  of  dis 
tinguished  authors  decorate  appropriate  compart 
ments,  and  in  a  prominent  niche  at  the  head  of  the 


136  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

apartment,  stands  a  full-length  statue  of  Shakes 
peare,  executed  by  Thorn,  in  the  same  style  as  the 
Tarn  O'Shanter  and  Old  Mortality  groups  of  this 
Scotch  sculptor. 

The  great  speciality  of  the  library  is  its  Shakes 
peare  collection;  but  although  very  extensive  and 
valuable,  it  by  no  means  engrosses  the  entire  library, 
which  contains  a  large  number  of  valuable  works  in 
several  departments  of  literature. 

The  number  of  lexicons  and  dictionaries  is  large, 
and  among  the  latter  may  be  found  all  the  rare  old 
English  works  so  valuable  for  reference.  Three  book 
cases  are  devoted  to  serials,  which  contain  many  of 
the  standard  reviews  and  magazines.  One  case  is  ap 
propriated  to  voyages  and  travels,  in  which  are  found 
many  valuable  ones.  In  another  are  upward  of  one 
hundred  volumes  of  table-talk,  and  numerous  works 
on  the  fine  arts  and  bibliography.  One  bookcase  is 
devoted  to  choice  works  on  America,  among  which 
is  Sebastian  Munster's  Cosmograpliia  Nbvum  O-rbis 
Reyionum,  published  in  folio  at  Basle,  in  1537, 
which  contains  full  notes  of  Columbus,  Vespucci, 
and  other  early  voyagers.  Another  department  con 
tains  a  curious  catalogue  of  authorities,  relating  to 
Crime  and  Punishment,  a  liberal  space  is  devoted  to 
Facetiae,  another  to  American  Poetry,  and  also  one 
to  Natural  and  Moral  Philosophy.  The  standard 


MR.  BURTON'S  COLLECTION.  137 

works  of   Fiction,   Biography,   Theology,    and   the 
Drama,  are  all  represented. 

There  is  a  fair  collection  of  classical  authors,  many 
of  which  are  of  Aldine  and  Elzevir  editions.  Among 
the  rarities  in  this  department  is  a  folio  copy  of 
Plautus  printed  at  Venice  in  1518,  and  illustrated 
with  wood-cuts.  The  true  name  of  this  writer  was 
T.  Maccius  Plautus.  He  was  of  humble  origin,  and 
is  supposed  to  have  once  been  a  slave.  He  lived  at 
Rome  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  years  before 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  Era,  and  wrote  a 
number  of  plays,  which  obtained  great  celebrity  in 
the  time  of  their  author,  and  continued  to  be  looked 
upon  as  models  of  this  species  of  composition  for 
many  centuries  after  his  decease.  Twenty  of  his 
plays  are  extant,  which  are  distinguished  for  the 
purity  of  their  style  and  the  exquisite  humor  of 
their  characters,  although  Horace  blames  him  for 
the  coarseness  of  his  wit.  Gellius,  who  held  him 
in  much  esteem,  says  that  he  was  distinguished 
for  his  poetry  upon  the  stage  at  the  time  that  Cato 
was  for  his  eloquence  in  the  forum.  The  first  edition 
of  his  works  was  printed  at  Venice  in  1472,  by  Me- 
rula.  The  edition  of  1518,  in  this  collection,  is  so 
rare  as  not  to  be  mentioned  by  Brunet,  De  Bure,  or 
Michael  Mattaire.  There  is  also  a  folio  edition  of  Sal- 
lust,  published  at  Venice  in  1511,  with  wood-cuts; 
18 


138  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

an  excellent  copy  of  Statius,  published  at  Venice  in 
1498,  and  a  translation  from  the  Greek  of  Plutarch 
into  Latin  by  Guarini,  of  Verona,  surnamed  Vero 
nese,  who  was  the  first  of  a  family  celebrated  for 
their  literary  attainments,  and  who  is  frequently  con 
founded  with  Battista  Guarini,  the  author  of  II  Pas 
tor  Fido.  Guarini  Veronese  was  the  grammarian  of 
his  day,  and  a  strong  advocate  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Greek  language  in  its  purity.  He  was  an 
assiduous  student,  and  spent  considerable  time  at 
Constantinople  in  copying  the  manuscripts  of  the 
best  models  in  Grecian  literature.  Accompanied  by 
his  precious  freight,  he  set  sail  for  Italy,  but  was 
shipwrecked,  and  lost  all  of  his  laboriously  acquired 
treasure,  which  produced  such  an  effect  upon  him  as 
to  change  his  hair  from  a  dark  color  to  white  in  a 
single  night.  The  world  is  indebted  to  him  for  the 
first  edition  of  the  Commentaries  of  Servius  on 
Virgil,  and  likewise  for  the  recovery  of  a  number 
of  manuscript  poems  of  Catullus,  which  he  found 
mouldering  and  almost  obliterated  in  a  garret.  With 
the  assistance  of  his  father,  he  applied  himself  to  the 
task  of  deciphering  them,  and  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  verses,  reproduced  them  entirely. 

The  collection  is  well  supplied  with  editions  of 
Virgil.  In  addition  to  Ogilby's  folio,  with  Hollar 
and  Fairthorne's  plates,  is  a  choice  copy  of  the  illus- 


MR.  BURTON'S  COLLECTION.  139 

trated  edition  in  three  folio  volumes,  and  the  very 
rare  foe-simile  Florentine  edition  of  1741 — (Ex  cod. 
Mediceo  Laurentiano).  This  edition  is  now  so  scarce, 
that  a  copy  was  recently  sold  in  London  for  fifty 
pounds  sterling. 

The  collection  also  contains  a  copy  of  the  Vatican 
edition  of  Terence,  in  Latin  and  Italian,  after  the 
text  of  Heinsius,  with  numerous  illustrations  of 
ancient  masks,  &c.,  published  at  Rome  in  two  folio 
volumes,  in  1767  ;  an  excellent  copy  of  the  best  edition 
of  Suetonius,  with  commentaries  by  Baraldi,  printed 
in  Roman  letter  at  Paris  in  1512 ;  Titi  Livii,  published 
at  Nuremberg  in  folio,  in  1514,  in  its  original  wood 
binding;  Livy's  Roman  History,  published  in  1600 
—the  first  English  edition:  Diogenes  Laertius  de 
Vitis  et  Dogmatibu$  Pliilosoplwrum,  published  at 
Amsterdam  in  1692  ;  a  vellum  black-letter  copy  of 
Eusebius,  of  the  rare  Venetian  edition  of  1483 ; 
Boetius,  published  in  1570;  the  two  original  editions 
of  the  eminent  critic,  Justus  Lipsius ;  the  Antwerp 
edition  of  Seneca,  published  in  1570,  the  same  work 
in  folio,  in  1613  ;  and  Stephen's  edition  of  Sophocles, 
published  in  1518,  which  is  an  admirable  specimen 
of  Greek  typography. 

Among  the  Italian  poets  is  a  copy  of  Dante,  in 
folio,  published  in  1497,  with  most  remarkable  cuts; 
and  the  Commentaries  of  Landino,  the  most  highly 


140  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

valued  of  all  the  old  commentators  upon  this  poet ; 
also  an  excellent  large  paper  copy  of  Tasso,  in  the 
original  text,  with  Morghen's  exquisite  line  engrav 
ings,  published  in  1820,  in  two  folio  volumes. 

Cervantes  appears  to  have  been  quite  a  favorite 
with  the  possessor  of  this  library ,  who  has  the  ex 
cellent  Spanish  edition  of  1*738,  with  Van  der  Gucht's 
beautiful  plates  and  many  inserted  illustrations,  in 
four  volumes ;  the  quarto  edition,  published  at  La 
Haye,  in  1746,  containing  thirty-one  plates  from 
Coypel's  designs ;  Smollet's  quarto  edition  of  1755, 
in  two  volumes,  with  plates  by  Grignion  after  de 
signs  by  Hayman  ;  a  folio  edition  by  Shelton,  with 
many  curious  engravings,  published  in  1652,  besides 
several  modern  editions. 

In  the  historical  department  is  a  fine  edition  of 
Montfaucon's  works  in  20  folio  volumes,  including 
the  Monarchic  Frangaise,  the  original  edition  of 
Dugdale's  works,  including  the  Monasticon  with  the 
old  designs,  Boissardus  Romance  Urbis  Antiquitates, 
in  3  vols.  folio,  and  a  large  number  of  the  old  Chroni 
clers,  in  their  earliest  and  rarest  editions.  Among 
these  latter  are  two  copies  of  the  very  scarce  Poly- 
chronicon,  by  Raulph  Higden,  the  monk  of  Chester 
—the  one  in  black-letter  folio,  printed  in  1495,  by 
Wynkyn  de  Worde,  is  wanting  in  the  last  page,  the 
other,  printed  in  1527  by  Peter  Traveris,  and  orna- 


MR.  BUKTON'S  COLLECTION.  141 

mented  with  wood-cuts,  is  in  perfect  order.  Both  of 
these  volumes  have  marginal  notes,  probably  in  the 
handwriting  of  the  day. 

The  collection  is  particularly  rich  in  copies  of 
original  editions  of  old  English  poetry,  among  which 
are  the  works  of  Samuel  Daniel,  1602  ;  Sandy's  Ovid, 
published  in  1626  ;  Lucan,  by  Sir  Arthur  Gorges, 
published  in  1614,  noticed  in  Colin  Clout,  and  per 
sonified  as  Alcyon  in  Spenser's  Daphnaida ;  "Arte  of 
Englysh  Poesie,"  with  a  fine  portrait  of  Queen  Eliz 
abeth,  published  in  1589;  Quarle's  works ;  Harring 
ton's  translation  of  Orlando  Furioso,  folio,  published 
in  1591,  with  plates  in  compartments;  Sir  W.  Dave- 
nant's  Poems,  published  in  quarto  in  1651,  with  an 
original  poem  in  the  author's  handwriting,  never 
published;  copies  of  the  editions  of  1613  and  1648 
of  George  Wither' s  poems,  and  Chapman's  "  Seven 
Bookes  of  the  Iliad  of  Homer"  published  in  1598. 

This  latter  writer,  who  was  born  in  Kent,  in  Eng 
land,  in  1559,  was  one  of  the  coterie  formed  by  Dan 
iel,  Marlow,  Spenser,  Shakespeare,  and  others,  and 
lived  upon  terms  of  great  good-fellowship  with  Eng 
land's  greatest  bard.  He  had  no  mean  reputation  as 
a  dramatic  writer,  and  was,  besides,  highly  respected 
as  a  gentleman.  His  social  position  appears  to  have 
been  an  excellent  one,  and  his  urbanity  of  manner 
such  as  to  endear  him  to  all  his  friends.  His  inti- 


142  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

mate  association  with  Shakespeare  seems  to  establish 
the  fact  that  in  his  own  day  the  great  poet  occupied 
a  prominent  place  in  society,  and  was  as  duly  'appre 
ciated  in  his  own  time,  as  Jonson  and  Pope  in  theirs. 
A  monument  was  planned  and  erected  over  the  re 
mains  of  Chapman  by  his  personal  friend,  Inigo 
Jones,  on  the  south  side  of  St.  George  in  the  Fields ; 
but  in  the  changes  which  have  disturbed  the  repose 
of  those  who  were  consigned  to  their  last  resting- 
place  in  that  burial-ground,  the  monument  has  been 
destroyed. 

This  department  possesses  the  black-letter  folios 
of  Chaucer  in  1542  (the  first  complete  edition),  that 
of  1561,  and  that  of  1598,  all  of  which  are  now 
quite  scarce;  the  folio  editions  of  Milton  of  1692 
and  1695,  possessing  the  old  but  characteristic  en 
gravings,  as  well  as  the  quarto  edition  in  two  vol 
umes,  published  at  the  expense  of  the  Earl  of  Bath ; 
Touson's  edition  of  1751,  with  plates;  a  large  paper 
copy  of  the  edition  of  1802,  which  contains  West- 
all's  plates;  and  Martin's  edition  of  1826,  enriched 
by  twenty-four  original  and  beautiful  engravings; 
likewise  the  first  folio  edition  of  Spenser's  Fairy 
Queen,  published  in  1609,  and  Fairfax's  Tasso,  pub 
lished  in  1624. 

Besides  the  works  already  noticed,  are  Sylvester's 
Du  Bartus ;  Warner's  Albion  and  England,  pub- 


MR.  BURTON'S  COLLECTION.  143 

lished  in  1586;  "all  the  works  of  John  Taylor,  the 
water-poet,  being  sixty  and  three  in  number,"  pub 
lished  in  folio  in  1630.  This  is  a  very  rare  work, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  sold  for  eighty  guineas.  A 
similar  work  to  this  is  the  "  Sliype  of  Fools  of  tlie 
Worlde"  translated  from  Brandt,  and  published  in 
black-letter  folio,  with  many  wood-cuts,  in  1509. 
A  perfect  copy  of  this  work  is  very  rare.  The 
one  in  the  present  collection  is  wanting  in  the  title- 
page  and  two  last  leaves.*  Its  price  in  the  catalogue 
Anglo-Poetica,  is  one  hundred  guineas.  The  copy 
of  Taylor,  in  the  collection,  is  a  fine  large  one,  and 
handsomely  bound.  The  real  value  of  these  two 
last  volumes  in  a  literary  point  of  view,  is  perhaps 
not  great,  but  still  from  their  peculiar  associations 
they  are  highly  prized  by  "  MKlwpJiiles?  Southey 
says:  "There  is  nothing  in  John  Taylor  which 
deserves  preservation  for  its  intrinsic  merit  alone, 
but  in  the  collection  of  his  pieces  which  I  have 
perused  there  is  a  great  deal  to  illustrate  the  man 
ners  of  his  age.  If  the  water-poet  had  been  in  a 
higher  grade  of  society,  and  bred  to  some  regular 
profession,  he  would  probably  have  been  a  much 
less  distinguished  person  in  his  generation.  No 
spoon  could  have  suited  his  mouth  so  well  as  the 

*  In  the   British  Museum,  and  the  Bibliotheque  Imperiale  at  Paris, 
are  perfect  copies  of  this  work. 


144  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

wooden  one  to  which  he  was  born.  Fortunately  he 
came  into  the  world  at  the  right  time,  and  lived  at 
an  age  when  kings  and  queens  condescended  to  no 
tice  his  verses,  and  archbishops  admitted  him  to 
their  tables,  and  mayors  and  corporations  received 
him  with  civic  honors."* 

There  is  a  department  of  curiosities  in  the  shape 
of  odd  or  rare  books,  which  is  quite  interesting; 
among  the  works  are  the  singular  history  of  M. 
Oufle  ;  the  Encyclopaedia  of  Man,  printed  in  English 
after  the  manner  of  Hebrew  publications,  beginning 
at  the  close  of  the  volume  and  reading  to  the  left ; 
Anteros,  by  Baptista  Fulgosius,  in  quarto,  published 
in  1496.  This  work,  "  Contre  I 'Amour"  is  said  to 
be  of  extraordinary  rarity.  Likewise  the  Zodiacke 
of  Life,  published  in  1588 ;  a  curious  manuscript  in 
not  very  good  Latin,  with  illuminated  letters,  upon 
the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Creed,  by  Hen.  Custas, 
dated  1614  ;  Memorable  Accidents  and  Massacres  in 
France,  in  folio,  published  in  1598;  a  singular  black- 
letter  Edict  of  Emperor  Charles  V.,  published  in 
1521 ;  a  very  singular  Siamese  work  on  the  laws 
of  marriage;  Petri  Bembi,  with  a  frontispiece  by 
Hans  Holbein,  published  in  1518 ;  Libri  Exemplo- 
rum,  by  Hie.  Paf radius,  published  in  1481 ;  the 

*  Southey's  Uneducated  Poets,  p.  87. 


MR.  BURTON'S  COLLECTION. 


original  edition  of  the  Rogue,  or  life  of  De  Alfa- 
rache  Guzman,  folio,  published  in  1634,  translated 
by  James  Mabbe,  otherwise  known  as  Don  Diego 
Puede-sur. 

Tfcere  is  also  a  copy  of  the  Opera  Hrosvite  Illus- 
tris  Virginia,  published  in  Nuremberg  in  1501,  in 
folio,  bound  in  old  wooden  covers,  with  brass  clamps. 
This  work,  which  contains  some  wood  engraving's 

o  O 

equal  to  etchings,  probably  the  work  of  Durer,  is 
fully  described  by  Mengerand  in  his  Esprit  des 
Journaux  ;f  PisonVs  Historia,  with  engravings  of 
birds,  animals  and  fishes,  that  would  excite  the 
surprise  of  the  naturalists  of  the  present  day  ; 
Novus  Marcellm  Doctrina,  published  at  Venice  in 
1476,  on  large  paper,  with  colored  initials;  a  curious 
folio  manuscript  history  of  the  "  Starre  Chamber  ;  " 
and  Lithgow's  "  Rare  Adventures  and  Painful  Pere- 
grinationes,"  published  in  1632,  interlined  with  the 
author's  manuscript  emendations,  and  evidently  in 
tended  for  a  new  edition.  This  work  is  rare  —  the 
copy  owned  by  King  Charles  brought  £42  at  Jadis's 
sale. 

The  collection  has  a  large  number  of  old  Bibles, 
many  thousand  biblical  illustrations,  a  large  number 
of  other  illustrated  works,  and  many  books  and 
prints  especially  devoted  to  the  Cromwellian  era  of 

English  life. 
19 


146  LI13KAKIE8    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

The  Shakespeare  Department  contains  many  sep 
arate  editions  of  the  works  of  the  immortal  bard, 
each  of  which  is  distinguished  by  some  peculiarity. 
First  among  these  stand  the  four  folios  published  in 
1623,  1632,  1664,  and  1685,  with  a  number  of  the 
original  quartos  of  separate  plays,  illustrated  copies, 
some  of  which  belonged  to  able  scholars,  and  are 
enriched  by  their  manuscript  notes. 

Mr.  Burton  sought  to  possess  every  work  that 
alludes  to  the  early  editions  of  Shakespeare,  or 
which  serves  in  any  way  to  illustrate  the  text. 
Among  these  are  to  be  found  many  of  the  original 
tracts,  the  scarce  romances,  the  old  histories  and  the 
rare  ballads,  upon  which  he  founded  his  wonderful 
plays,  or  which  are  alluded  to  in  the  text.  The  col 
lection  contains  the  book  alluded  to  by  the  quaint 
and  facetious  Touchstone,  in  "  As  You  Like  It,"  by 
which  the  gallants  were  said  to  quarrel  with  the 
various  degrees  of  proof,  "  the  retort  courteous, 
the  countercheck  quarrelsome,  and  the  lie  direct ;" 
the  Book  of  Good  Manners,  the  Book  of  Sonnets 
mentioned  in  the  "  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,"  the 
Book  of  Compliments,  and  the  Hundred  Merry 
Tales ;  and  Montaigne,  translated  by  Florio,  who 
is  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  Holofernes  in 
"Love's  Labor's  Lost,"  the  edition  of  Holinshed, 
so  freely  used  by  Shakespeare  in  his  historical 


MR.  BURTON'S  COLLECTION. 


plays,  with  tlie  lines  quoted   by  him  underscored 
with  red  ink. 

Among  the  collected  editions  of  Shakespeare  is 
the  first  quarto,  in  seven  volumes,  edited  by  Pope, 
which,  besides  having  the  reputation  of  being  the 
least  reliable  of  any  edition  of  Shakespeare's  works, 
is  defaced  by  an  engraving  of  King  James  I.  of 
England,  which  the  publishers  sought  to  palm  upon 
the  public  as  the  likeness  of  the  great  dramatist.  It 
is  engraved  by  Vertue  from  an  original  painting  in 
the  Harleian  collection,  and  does  not  possess  the 
slightest  resemblance  to  any  of  the  various  portraits 
of  Shakespeare. 

The  collection  contains  a  large  paper  copy  of  Han- 
mer's  beautiful  quarto  edition,  published  in  1744, 
with  Gravelot's  etchings,  which  is  now  quite  rare ; 
also,  the  reprint  of  the  same  work,  made  in  1770, 
and  a  fine  copy  of  the  quarto  edition,  known  as 
Heath's,  in  six  volumes,  with  proof  plates  after 
Stothard ;  a  beautiful  and  undoubtedly  unique 
copy  of  the  Atlas  folio  edition  in  nine  volumes, 
published  by  Boydell  in  1802,  elegantly  bound 
and  tooled  with  great  richness  of  design.  This 
copy  was  selected  by  Boydell,  with  great  care,  for 
Miss  Mary  JSTicol,  sister  of  George  Nicol,  printer 
to  the  king,  and  a  relative  of  Boydell.  It  contains 
proof  impressions  of  the  engravings,  and  an  extra 


148  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

volume  of  original  etchings.  This  work  was  pur 
chased  at  the  sale  of  the  Stowe  library.  The  cer 
tificates  of  Mcol  and  the  librarian  of  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  testifying  to  the  value  and  rarity  of 
this  picked  specimen  of  typography  and  engraving, 
are  bound  in  the  first  volume  of  the  work.  The 
collection  contains  Mr.  Boydell's  own  private  port 
folio,  with  the  original  etchings,  artist's  proof,  and 
proof  before  letter,  of  every  engraving,  with  the 
portraits,  now  so  difficult  to  meet  with,  of  the  large 
elephant  folio  plates,  upward  of  one  hundred  in 
number. 

But  the  crowning  glory  is  a  folio  copy  of  Shake 
speare,  illustrated  by  the  collector  himself,  with, 
a  prodigality  of  labor  and  expense  that  places  it 
far  above  any  similar  work  ever  attempted.  The 
letter-press  of  this  great  work  is  a  choice  speci 
men  from  Mcol's  types,  and  each  play  occupies 
a  separate  portfolio.  These  are  accompanied  by 
costly  engravings  of  landscapes,  rare  portraits,  maps, 
elegantly  colored  plates  of  costumes,  and  water- 
color  drawings,  executed  by  some  of  the  best 
artists  of  the  day.  Some  of  the  plays  have  over 
two  hundred  folio  illustrations,  each  of  which  is 
beautifully  inlaid  or  mounted,  and  many  of  the  en 
gravings  are  very  valuable.  Some  of  the  landscapes, 
selected  from  the  oldest  cosmographies  known,  ilJns- 


ME.  BURTON'S  COLLECTION.  149 

trating  the  various  places  mentioned  in  the  pages  of 
Shakespeare,  are  exceedingly  curious  as  well  as  val 
uable. 

In  the  historical  plays,  when  possible,  every  char 
acter  is  portrayed  from  authoritative  sources,  as  old 
tapestries,  monumental  brasses,  or  illuminated  works 
of  the  age,  in  well-executed  drawings  or  recognized 
engravings.  There  are  in  this  work  a  vast  number 
of  illustrations,  in  addition  to  a  very  numerous 
collection  of  water-color  drawings.  In  addition  to 
the  thirty-seven  plays,  are  two  volumes  devoted  to 
Shakespeare's  life  and  times,  one  volume  of  por 
traits,  one  volume  devoted  to  distinguished  Shake- 
spearians,  one  to  poems,  and  two  to  disputed  plays, 
the  whole  embracing  a  series  of  forty-two  folio  vol 
umes,  and  forming,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable 
and  costly  monument  in  this  shape  ever  attempted 
by  a  devout  worshipper  of  the  Bard  of  Avon. 

The  volume  devoted  to  Shakespeare's  portraits  was 
purchased  by  Mr.  Burton  at  the  sale  of  a  gentleman's 
library,  who  had  spent  many  years  in  making  the 
collection,  and  includes  various  "  effigies  "  unknown 
to  many  laborious  collectors.  It  contains  upward 
of  one  hundred  plates,  for  the  most  part  proofs. 
The  value  of  this  collection  may  be  estimated  by  the 
fact  that  a  celebrated  English  collector  recently 
offered  its  possessor  .£60  for  this  single  volume. 


I  LIBRARIES    OF    KEW    YORK. 

Ill  the  reading-room  directly  beneath  the  main 
library,  are  a  number  of  portfolios  of  prints  illus 
trative  of  the  plays  of  Shakespeare,  of  a  size  too 
large  to  be  included  in  the  illustrated  collection  just 
noticed.  There  is  likewise  another  copy  of  Shake 
speare  based  upon  Knight's  pictorial  royal  octavo, 
copiously  illustrated  by  the  owner;  but  although 
the  prints  are  numerous,  they  are  neither  as  costly 
nor  as  rare  as  those  contained  in  the  large  folio 
copy. 

Among  the  curiosities  of  the  Shakespeare  collec 
tion  are  a  number  of  copies  of  the  disputed  plays, 
printed  during  his  lifetime,  with  the  name  of  Shake 
speare  as  their  author.  It  is  remarkable,  if  these 
plays  were  not  at  least  revised  by  Shakespeare,  that 
no  record  of  a  contradiction  of  their  authorship 
should  be  found.  It  is  not  improbable  that  many 
plays  written  by  others,  were  given  to  Shakespeare 
to  perform  in  his  capacity  as  a  theatrical  manager, 
requiring  certain  alterations  in  order  to  adapt 
them  to  the  use  of  the  stage,  which  were  arranged 
by  his  cunning  and  skilful  hand,  and  that  these 
plays  afterward  found  their  way  into  print  with 
just  sufficient  of  his  emendations  to  allow  his  au 
thorship  of  them,  in  the  carelessness  in  which  he 
he  held  his  literary  fame,  to  pass  uncoiitradicted  by 
him. 


MR.  BURTON'S  COLLECTION.  151 

There  is  a  copy  of  an  old  play  of  the  period,  with 
manuscript  annotations,  and  the  name  of  Shake 
speare  written  on  the  title-page.  It  is  either  the 
veritable  signature  of  the  poet,  or  an  admirably  imi 
tated  forgery.  Mr.  Burton  inclined  to  the  opinion 
that  the  work  once  belonged  to  Shakespeare,  and 
that  the  signature  is  genuine.  If  so,  it  is  probably 
the  only  scrap  of  his  handwriting  on  this  continent. 
This  work  is  not  included  in  the  list  given  of  Ire 
land's  library,  the  contents  of  which  were  brought 
into  disrepute  by  the  remarkable  literary  forgeries 
of  the  son,  but  stands  forth  peculiar  and  unique,  and 
furnishes  much  room  for  curious  speculation. 

These  forgeries  form  a  curious  feature  in  the 
Shakespeare  history  of  the  last  century.  They  were 
executed  by  William  Henry  Ireland,  the  son  of  a 
gentleman  of  much  literary  taste,  and  a  devoted 
admirer  of  Shakespeare.  Young  Ireland,  who  was 
apprenticed  to  an  attorney,  possessed  the  dangerous 
faculty  of  imitating  the  handwriting  of  another  per 
son  with  such  perfection  as  to  deceive  the  most  care 
ful  critic.  His  occupation  led  him  much  among  old 
records,  by  which  means  he  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  the  phraseology  used  in  them,  and  the  general 
appearance  imparted  by  age  to  the  paper  and  ink, 
all  of  which  he  was  enabled  to  imitate  very 
closely. 


152  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

His  father's  reverence  for  Shakespeare  induced 
him  to  endeavor  to  palm  off  upon  himself  and 
friends,  probably  at  first  as  a  good  joke,  some  origi 
nals  of  the  great  poet.  One  of  these  was  a  declara 
tion  of  his  faith  in  the  Protestant  church,  which, 
when  shown  to  Dr.  Parr,  drew  from  this  great 
scholar  the  observation  that,  although  there  were 
many  fine  things  in  the  church  service,  here  was  a 
man  who  distanced  them  all. 

Mr.  Boaden,  a  gentleman  of  great  taste,  states  that 
when  he  first  saw  these  papers  he  looked  upon  them 
with  the  purest  delight,  and  touched  them  with  the 
greatest  respect,  as  veritable  and  indisputable  relics. 
A  number  of  gentlemen  met  at  Mr.  Ireland's  house, 
and  after  carefully  inspecting  the  manuscripts,  sub 
scribed  a  paper  vouching  their  authenticity.  Among 
these  were  Dr.  Parr,  Dr.  Yalpy,  Pye,  the  Poet  Lau 
reate,  Herbert  Croft  and  Boswell.  It  is  said  that 
when  Boswell  approached  to  sign  the  paper,  he  rev 
erentially  fell  upon  his  knees,  thanked  God  that  he 
had  witnessed  the  discovery,  and,  in  the  language  of 
Simeon,  exclaimed,  "  Nunc  dimittis  servum  tivum, 
Domine,  in  pace" 

It  was  now  too  late  for  young  Ireland  to  retreat, 
if  he  ever  intended  to  have  done  so,  and  the  discov 
ery  of  the  imposture  remained  for  Malone  and 
Chalmers  fully  to  develop.  The  disclosure  is  said 


153 


to  have  brought  the  elder  Mr.  Ireland  in  sorrow  to 

o 

his  grave,  and  to  have  bestowed  upon  the  young 
scapegrace,  who,  either  thoughtlessly,  or  with  malice 
aforethought,  had  embittered  the  last  years  of  the 
life  of  a  tender  parent,  the  epithet  (which  clung  to 
him  ever  afterward)  of  "  Shakespeare  Ireland." 

The  contemporaries  of  Shakespeare  are  quite  nu 
merous.  In  the  cases  devoted  to  the  old  English 
drama  are  the  original  and  best  editions  of  Chapman, 
Marston,  Heywood,  Dekker,  Greene,  Rowley,  Mas- 
singer,  Ford,  Jonson  and  Field.  Besides  the  orig 
inal  quartos,  the  library  contains  most  of  the  col 
lected  editions  of  the  old  dramatists,  and  in  this 
department  it  is  quite  complete. 

Three  bookcases  are  devoted  to  works  pertaining 
to  the  history  of  the  stage,  in  every  country  and 
language,  from  the  commencement  of  the  art  to  the 
present  time,  and  scarcely  a  work  relating  to  the 
history,  progress,  or  criticism  of  the  stage  can  be 
named,  which  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  collection. 

A  full-length  statue  of  Shakespeare  in  freestone, 
placed  in  a  niche  upon  the  northern  side  of  the  room, 
and  surrounded  by  carved  tracery  of  a  Gothic  de 
sign,  has  already  been  noticed.  Upon  the  eastern 
side,  the  Stratford  bust  is  placed  on  a  bracket  of 
the  age  of  Elizabeth.  The  celebrated  antiquary, 

Cottingham,  devoted  his  personal  attention  to  this 
20 


154  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

work,  and  no  other  copy  has  been  given  to  the 
world. 

This  bust,  the  bracket  upon  w^hich  it  rests,  a  curi 
ous  old  drinking  vessel  of  stone,  with  a  metal  lid, 
all  found  in  the  garden  of  Shakespeare's  house  at 
New  Place,  a  well  carved  head  of  a  Nubian  girl, 
and  the  keystone  of  an  entrance  arch  of  the  theatre 
at  Pompeii,  were  purchased  by  the  owner  of  the 
present  collection  at  the  extensive  sale  of  the  per 
sonal  effects  of  Mr.  Cottingham. 

There  is  also  a  beautifully  carved  tea-caddy,  made 
from  the  wood  of  Shakespeare's  mulberry  tree,  which 
formerly  belonged  to  Garrick,  and  a  small  copy  of 
Roubilliac's  statue  of  Shakespeare,  which  is  the  first 
specimen  of  chinaware  executed  at  Chelsea,  in  Eng 
land.  This  likewise  belonged  to  Garrick.  There 
are  likewise  two  drinking-cups  with  silver  rims,  said 
to  be  made  of  the  wood  of  a  crab-tree  under  which 
Shakespeare  slept  during  his  celebrated  frolic,  for 
merly  in  the  possession  of  Betterton. 


REV.  DR.  CHAPIFS  LIBRARY. 


DE.  CHAPIN'S  Library  contains  about  five  thou 
sand  volumes,  mostly  in  the  English  language,  and 
it  may  be  concisely  described  as  a  collection  of  the 
best  editions  of  the  best  English  and  American  works. 
Among  these  there  are  many  books  of  some  rarity, 
but  nothing  unique,  or  deserving  special  description 
on  this  account.  As  a  private  library,  it  is  tolerably 
complete  in  the  departments  of  Biblical  Interpreta 
tion;  History — ecclesiastical  and  profane;  Philoso 
phy  ;  Natural  Science ;  and  General  Literature.  Dr. 
Chapin  has  taken  some  pains  in  collecting  works 
illustrative  of  English  History,  and  among  the  books 
in  this  department  may  be  mentioned  the  first  edi 
tion  of  Holinshed,  1577  (slightly  imperfect)  ;  sev 
eral  volumes  of  Tracts  of  the  time  of  the  civil  war 
of  Cromwell,  and  some  specialties  of  the  reign  of 
George  IV.  In  general  American  History  are 
most  of  the  standard  works,  and  a  small  collection 
bearing  upon  state  and  local  history.  There  are 
also  the  collections  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 


156  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Society;  Hutchinson's  Collection  of  State  Papers, 
1769;  Hubbard's  Indian  Wars,  first  edition,  1677; 
Josselyn's  New  England  rarities ;  the  heroic  poem  of 
"The  Cow  Chace,"  London,  1781,  with  an  advertise 
ment,  in  which  it  is  said,  that  "  the  following  poem 
was  written  by  the  late  gallant  Major  Andre,  who 
was  condemned  to  die  for  doing  his  duty  to  his  king 
and  country,  by  a  set  of  miscreants  calling  them 
selves  general  officers  in  the  American  Rebellion 
.  .  .  with  the  inhuman  Washington !  at  their 
head;"  a  set  of  Almon's  Remembrancer;  the  orig 
inal  folio  edition  of  Mather's  Magnolia;  and  the 
Decades  of  Peter  Martyr,  translated  by  Eden,  1612; 
The  Simple  Cobbler  of  Aggawam,  London,  1647 ; 
Monardes's  "Joyfull  Newes  out  of  the  New-found 
Worlde,  Englished  by  John  Frampton,"  London, 
1596;  "New  England  Judged  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord,  containing  a  Brief  Relation  of  the  Sufferings 
of  the  People  called  Quakers  in  New  England," 
London,  1703. 

There  are  a  number  of  works  devoted  to  an  expo 
sition  of  the  Hindoo  and  other  Oriental  Religions. 
The  collector  is  making  progress  toward  a  complete 
collection  of  the  published  books  of  Ballads,  and 
already  possesses  many  rare  volumes  in  this  depart 
ment.  The  library  contains  a  complete  set  of  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine,  and  Bladvwood,  the  latter 


KEY.  DR.  CHAPIN'S  COLLECTION.  157 

with  the  rare  "  Chaldee  Manuscript."  In  the  de 
partment  of  English  and  Scotch  Ballads,  the  list  is 
tolerably  full,  and  includes  Ritson,  Hurd,  Pinkerton, 
Finlay,  Jameson,  <fec.  Of  philosophical  works  in  the 
English  language,  are  Cudworth,  More,  Hobbes, 
Bacon,  Middleton,  Sir  William  Hamilton,  Bain,  &c. 
In  the  department  of  Biblical  Study,  are  the  best 
modern  commentaries,  English  and  German.  In 
Scientific  and  General  Literature,  and  the  various 
branches  of  Social  Science,  the  library  contains 
many  important  and  valuable  volumes,  among  which 
some  of  Dibdin's  elegant  books  may  be  speci 
fied;  Leigh  Sotheby's  Principia  Typograpliica,  3 
vols. ;  Spriiner's  Historical  Atlas ;  and  the  recent 
Photographic  Views  of  Egypt  and  Palestine,  by  F. 
Frith,  Jim. 

There  are  a  few  volumes  with  quaint  titles  like 
the  following :  "  The  excellent  and  pleasant  Worke 
of  lulius  Solinus  Polyhistor;  containing  the  noble 
actions  of  humaine  creatures,  the  secretes  and  prov 
idence  of  nature,  the  description  of  countries,  the 
movers  of  the  people,  with  many  meruvilous  things 
and  strange  antiquities,  serving  for  the  benefitt  and 
recreation  of  all  sorts  of  persons,  translated  out 
of  Latin  into  English  by  Arthur  Golding,  Gent. 
London,  1587;"  "The  Foreste,  a  collection  of  His 
tories  no  less  profitable  than  pleasant  and  necessary, 


158  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

dooen  out  of  French  into  Englishe,  by  Thomas  For- 
tescue.  London,  1571;"  "  Examen  de  Ingenios,  the 
Examination  of  Men's  Wits ;  in  which,  by  discover 
ing  the  varietie  of  natures,  is  shewed  for  what  pro 
fession  each  one  is  apt,  and  how  far  he  shall  profit 
therein ;  by  John  Hvarte.  Translated  out  of  the 
Spanish  tongue  by  M.  Camillo  Camilli;  Englished 
out  of  his  Italian,  by  R.  C.  Esquire.  London,  1616." 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  suffi 
cient  sprinkling  of  rare  and  usele-s-s  books  to  vindi 
cate  the  possessor's  title  to  a  place  among  the  broth 
erhood  of  bibliomaniacs.  While  the  collection  makes 
no  pretensions  to  have  all  the  books  "  without  which 
no  gentleman's  library  is  complete,"  it  contains 
those  which  are  most  necessary  to  the  vocation  of 
the  possessor,  requiring  not  only  large  but  various 
reading. 

Among  the  works  not  enumerated  are:  a  very 
fine  large-paper  copy  of  Bayle's  Dictionary,  in  5  vols.  • 
a  complete  set  of  "  The  Percy  Society  Collections ;" 
a  very  general  collection  of  Dictionaries  and  Cyclo 
pedias  on  special  subjects ;  the  best  English  works 
on  Physiology,  Ethnology,  and  Geology ;  some  very 
curious  books  relating  to  Alchemy,  by  Sandivogius 
and  others ;  Johnes's  editions  of  Froissart's  Chroni 
cles,  and  Humphrey's  Illuminated  Illustrations  of 
Froissart,  from  the  manuscripts  in  the  British  Muse- 


KEY.  DR.  CHAPIN'S  COLLECTION.  159 

um,  elegantly  bound.  But  by  far  the  finest  volume 
in  Dr.  Chapin's  collection,  in  regard  to  paper,  typog 
raphy,  illustrations,  binding,  and  all  that  constitutes 
complete  book-making,  is  the  French  work,  entitled 
"  La  Toumine"  Indeed,  it  is  probably  one  of 
the  most  elegant  books  that  ever  issued  from  the 
press. 

There  is  an  illustrated  Ovid,  and  Sir  Philip 
Sidney's  Arcadia,  folio,  London,  1674.  This  copy 
belonged  to  Robert  Southey,  and  contains  his  auto 
graph.  It  was  presented  to  him  by  Joseph  Cottle. 
Also  the  first  English  translation  of  Boccaccio,  in 
two  parts,  with  curious  wood-cuts,  printed  by  Isaac 
laggard  for  Matthew  Lownes,  London,  1620-25  ; 
Godwin's  Life  of  Chaucer,  2  vols.  4to.,  London,  1803 ; 
and  Picart's  Religious  Ceremonies,  containing  an 
accurate  account  of  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the 
various  nations,  copiously  illustrated,  7  vols.  in  6, 
folio,  London,  1733.  Leo  of  Modena,  a  Rabbi  of 
Venice,  prepared  a  work  on  the  religious  customs  of 
the  Jews,  which  was  published  at  Paris  in  163Y, 
under  the  superintendence  of  M.  Gaifarel,  but  it  was 
found  so  full  of  errors  that  its  author  published  a 
second  edition  in  Venice,  under  his  own  supervision, 
in  1638,  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  first  part  of 
Picart's  work,  or  rather  translation  of  Leo's  Relig 
ious  Ceremonies  of  the  Jews,  in  which  no  opinions 


160  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

are  advanced  that  are  not  well  authenticated.  On 
this  account,  as  well  as  that  of  the  erudition  of  Leo, 
it  ranks  among  the  most  authentic  in  regard  to  the 
religious  ceremonies  of  the  Jews.  The  same  care 
has  been  taken  with  the  other  portions  of  the  work, 
in  which  are  to  be  found  an  accurate  and  complete 
account  of  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the  various 
sects  up  to  the  time  of  its  appearance.  There  is  also 
in  the  library  a  very  curious  collection  of  poems  on 
the  affairs  of  state ;  Chappell's  Popular  Music  in  the 
olden  time ;  a  collection  of  rare  tracts  in  relation  to 
the  Pretender,  including  a  life  of  William  Fuller, 
who  wrote  the  greater  part  of  them;  Prince's  An 
nals  of  New  England,  and  Drake's  History  and  An 
tiquities  of  Boston,  on  large  paper,  in  folio.  But 
one  hundred  and  one  copies  of  this  size  were  printed  ; 
the  present  copy  is  No.  18.  A  large  number  of  these 
works  are  in  handsome  bindings,  and  in  excellent 
condition. 


ALEXANDER  I.  COTHEAL'S  LIBRARY. 


ME.  COTHEAL'S  library,  which  contains  somewhat 
over  ten  thousand  volumes,  is  chiefly  devoted  to 
works  on  primary  and  early  Education,  pure  and 
mixed  Mathematics,  Philology,  books  of  travels, 
especially  in  Asiatic  and  African  countries,  sys 
tems  of  study  of  modern  languages,  more  particu 
larly  those  of  Latin  origin,  the  Semitic  and  other 
oriental  languages,  and  some  of  the  African  dialects. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  illustrated  works, 
usually  devoted  to  the  development  of  the  social  or 
geographical  position  of  countries  in  the  East ;  among 
these  are  Rugendo's  Voyage  Pittoresque  dans  le 
Bresil ;  Roberts's  Holy  Land,  folio;  Vyse's  Pyra 
mids  of  Grizeh,  with  an  account  of  a  voyage  into 
upper  Egypt,  3  vols.  4to.,  and  two  large  volumes 
of  plates ;  Nor  den's  Voyage  d'Egypte  et  de  Nubie; 
Cassas's  Voyage  Pittoresque  de  la  Syrie,  de  la  Plie- 
nicie,  de  la  Palestine,  et  de  la  Basse-Egypte,  folio, 

Paris,  1799-1800;    Denon's  Egypt,  Laborde's  Voy- 
21 


LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

age  dans  V  Aralrie-Petree  and  D'Ohsson's  Tableau 
General  de  V Empire  Oilwman.  This  latter  work, 
wliich  is  admirably  executed  so  far  as  it  goes,  was 
unfortunately  never  brought  to  completion.  The 
first  two  volumes  treat  of  the  religion  and  the  leg 
islation  of  the  Mussulmans.  The  first  part  of  the 
third  volume  completes  the  legislation,  while  the 
second  part  of  the  third  volume  is  devoted  to  the 
state  of  the  Ottoman  empire.  The  history  of  the 
Ottoman  empire,  which  forms  the  second  division  of 
this  great  work,  still  exists  in  manuscript.  The 
author,  Mouradja  (D'Ohsson)  was  of  Armenian  par 
entage,  and  born  at  Constantinople,  and  consequently 
in  a  position  to  obtain  the  most  reliable  information 
concerning  the  people  of  whom  he  had  the  ambition 
to  give  to  the  civilized  world  a  more  just  and  detailed 
account  than  it  had  hitherto  possessed.  A  familiar 
ity  with  the  chief  officers  of  state,  and  the  posses 
sion  of  a  considerable  fortune,  enabled  him  to 
examine  in  detail  the  records  of  this  jealous  and  ex 
clusive  people  without  exciting  their  suspicions,  and 
after  an  ardent  prosecution  of  his  inquiries  for  twen 
ty-two  years,  he  produced  the  present  work,  which  has 
given  him  a  permanent  reputation,  and  transmitted 
to  the  world  more  exact  information  in  regard  to 
the  Ottoman  empire  than  any  other  in  existence. 
There  is  a  fair  collection  of  works  on  Natural 


MR.  COTHEAL'S  COLLECTION.  163 

Science,  on  Calligraphy,  Topography,  Technical 
Drawing,  Civil  and  Military  Engineering;  also  on 
Systematic  and  Economic  Botany,  including  Lind- 
ley,  London,  Donn,  Miller,  Torrey  and  Gray;  En- 
dlicher's  Genera  Plantarum,  2  vols.  folio;  Pros- 
peri  A Ipini  de  plant.  ^Egyp.,  1640;  Joannis  Ves- 
lingii,  Mindani  de  plant.  ^Ecjyp.,  1638;  Bulliard's 
Herbier  de  la  France,  in  folio,  with  colored  fig 
ures  ;  Bulliard's  Ilistoire  des  Champignons  de  la 
France,  Paris,  1791-1812,  2  parts,  folio.  In  this 
latter  work,  which  is  interesting  not  only  on  account 
of  the  subject  selected,  but  also  because  of  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  treated,  is  to  be  found  the 
most  complete  account  of  the  different  varieties  of 
the  mushroom  which  had  appeared  up  to  the  time 
of  its  publication.  It  is,  however,  surpassed  in  this 
respect  at  the  present  time  by  the  work  of  Dr.  Paulet 
on  Champignons.  There  is  Forskal's  Descriptiones 
Animalium  et  Plantarium  etc.  Fgyptiaca-Arabica. 
Forskal  was  sent  by  Frederick  I.  of  Denmark,  as  the 
naturalist  of  the  scientific  expedition  of  which  this 
work  is  one  of  the  results,  in  company  with  Nie- 
buhr,  Von  Haven  and  Cramer.  Unfortunately  he 
was  attacked  with  the  plague  and  died  in  Egypt, 
after  ascending  the  Nile,  but  before  he  could  com 
plete  his  work,  which  was  arranged  and  given  to  the 
world  by  his  companion  and  Mend  Niebuhr.  Nie- 


164  LIBEAEIES    OF    NEW  YOEK. 

buhr's  Description  de  HArdbie  is  likewise  in  the  col 
lection,  in  4  vols.  4to. 

In  Mathematics  are  the  various  works  of  Lacroix, 
Bourdon,  Bouchardat,  Francceur,  Legendre ;  Meclia- 
nique  Celeste  de  Laplace,  4  vols.  4to.,  and  Bowditch's 
translation ;  French  Encyclopedia,  or  Dictionnaire 
Haisonne  des  Sciences,  des  Arts  et  des  Metiers,  in 
above  forty  volumes  folio,  of  which  one-third  are  vol 
umes  of  plates,  besides  a  number  of  works  of  general 
literature  in  English,  French,  Spanish,  Portuguese  and 
Italian.  In  Spanish  and  Portuguese  are  the  works  of 
Feijoo,  of  Cervantes,  of  Padre  Ysla,  of  Moratin,  of 
Calderon,  of  Lope  de  Vega,  of  the  Spanish  Acade 
my,  &c. 

In  Italian  are  the  works  of  Goldoni,  of  Ariosto,  of 
Bojardo,  of  Dante,  of  Petrarca,  <fec.,  and  the  Voca- 
bolario  degli  accademici  della  Crusca.  The  Gram- 
maire  des  Grammaires  Italiennes,  by  Barberi,  de 
serves  notice,  as  illustrating  the  language  of  the 
novelists  and  of  other  old  writers. 

Among  the  books  of  Travels,  especially  in  Asia 
and  Africa,  are  Russell's  Aleppo,  2  vols.  4to. ;  Tourne- 
fort's  Voyage  to  the  Levant,  2  vols.,  4to. ;  Burck- 
hardt's  Syria,  1  vol.  4to.,  Nubia,  1  vol.,  4to. ;  Notes  on 
the  Bedawees  and  Wahabees,  Travels  in  Arabia,  and 
Arab  Proverbs,  1  vol.,  4to. ;  Ali  Bey's  (the  Spaniard 
Badia)  Travels  in  Arabia  (original  French  edition.)  ; 


MR.  COTHEAL'S  COLLECTION.  165 

and  Burton's  Mecca  and  Medina.  All  Bey,  Burck- 
hardt  and  Burton,  are  the  only  Christian  travellers 
who  have  been  able  to  visit  the  Haramein,  or  Two 
Holy  Cities  of  the  Moslems,  and  describe  them. 
Clot  Bey  Apercu  sur  TEgypte,  and  Lane's  Modern 
Egypt.  Among  the  books  of  travels  on  East  Africa 
are  Burton's  First  Footsteps  in  East  Africa ;  John 
son's  Travels  in  Southern  Abyssinia ;  Harris's  High 
lands  of  ^Ethiopia;  Isenbergh  and  Krapf's  Abys 
sinian  Journal ;  Gobat's  Abyssinia ;  Parkyn's  Life 
in  Abyssinia ;  Owen's  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to 
the  East  Coast  of  Africa ;  Boteler's  Narrative  of  a 
Voyage  to  the  East  Coast  of  Africa ;  Guillain's  Voy 
age  to  the  East  Coast  of  Africa,  and  History  of  the 
Country,  with  an  atlas,  1857,  just  published  in 
Paris ;  Salt,  1  vol.,  4to. ;  Valentia ;  Ellis's  History 
of  Madagascar,  and  the  various  works  of  Keating, 
Jackson,  Host  and  Hem  so  on  Morocco. 

Of  works  on  the  Holy  Land  are  Robinson's  Re 
searches  in  Palestine ;  Williams's  Holy  City ;  Wilson's 
Lands  of  the  Bible ;  Sandys's  Holy  Land,  1  vol.  folio ; 
Bartlett's  Illustrated  works  on  Jerusalem,  other  parts 
of  the  Holy  Land,  Egypt,  <fec.,  and  Ferguson's  Jeru 
salem.  In  this  work  are  given  the  reduced  plans  of 
the  Haram  or  Holy  Enclosure,  including  the  mosques 
of  Omar  and  El  Aksa,  drawn  by  Mr.  Cotheal  on  a 
very  large  scale  from  Catherwood's  field-notes.  The 


166  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

large  plans  were  lent  to  Mr.  Catherwood,  and  sub 
sequently  taken  by  him  to  England,  and  furnished 
to  Mr.  Ferguson.  They  were  very  minute  in  the 
details,  and  contained  in  every  portion  the  meas 
urements  in  feet  and  inches.  Likewise  El  Devoto 
Pelegrino —  Viage  de  Tierra  Santa,  par  el  P.  An 
tonio  de  Castillo,  Madrid,  1656,  4to. ;  and  likewise 
II  Devotissimo  Viaggio  di  Girusalemme  /  fatto  e 
descritto  di  Giovanni  Zuallardo,  1586,  printed  at 
Rome  in  1587.  The  plates  of  this  work  are  repro 
duced  in  the  Devoto  Pelegrino,  just  mentioned. 

Of  works  on  African  explorations  are  White's 
Constantinople  ;  Daumas's  Le  Sahara,  Les  Ch&vawx 
du  Saliara,  and  Le  Grand  Desert ;  Escayrac  de  Lau- 
ture's  Le  Desert  et  le  Soudan;  Richardson's  Two 
Voyages  to  Central  Africa,  Travels  in  the  Great 
Desert  of  Sahara,  and  A  Mission  to  Central  Africa ; 
Park's  Travels  in  Africa,  1  vol.  4to. ;  Lyon's  Travels 
in  North  Africa,  1  vol.  4to. ;  Allen's  Niger  Expedi 
tion,  Forbes's  Oriental  Memoirs,  4  vols.  4to. ;  Le  Brun, 
3  vols.  folio;  Chardin,  3  vols.  folio ;  Ouseley's  Voyage 
in  Persia,  3  vols.  4to. ;  Tuckey's  Expedition  to  the 
Congo  or  River  Zaire,  1  vol.  4to. ;  History  of  Da 
homey,  1  vol.  4to. ;  Shaw's  Travels  in  Barbary,  &c., 
1  vol.  folio;  Caille's  Travels  to  Timbuctoo,  Shabee- 
ny's  History  of  Timbuctoo,  by  Jackson ;  Caillaud's 
Voyage  a  Meroe ;  Wilkinson's  Modern  Egypt  and 


MR.  COTIIEAL'S  COLLECTION.  167 

Thebes ;  Lane's  Modern  Egyptians,  and  Bruce's 
Travels. 

There  are  several  collections  of  voyages,  including 
Harris's  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  in  two 
vols.  folio  ;  Churchill's,  in  2  vols.  folio  ;  and  Histoire 
Generate  des  Voyages,  in  36  vols.  4to. 

There  is  an  excellent  collection  of  works  in  the 
Chinese  language,  including  the  Chinese  classics  in 
seven  volumes,  containing  the  Ta  Hioli,  or  Supreme 
Lessons  ;  the  Chung  Yung,  or  True  Medium ;  the 
Sun  Yd,  or  Conversations  of  Confucius ;  the  writings 
of  Mencius ;  Morrison's  Chinese  Vocabulary,  3  vols., 
Canton,  1828  ;  Rochet's  Manuel  de  la  Langue  Old- 
noise  Vulgaire  ;  JPremare  Notitid  Linguae,  Sini-cce, 
by  Bridgman,  1817,  and  the  Great  Native  Chinese 
Dictionary  in  32  volumes,  in  which  the  articles  are 
arranged  according  to  the  order  of  the  radicals,  as 
explained  in  the  first  volume,  which  contains  also 
the  Prefaces,  Tones,  &c. 

There  is  a  good  collection  of  oriental  works, 
especially  Arabic,  including  Alf  Laila  wa  Laila,  or 
Thousand  Nights  and  a  Night,  commonly  called  the 
Arabian  Nights  Entertainments,  4  vols.  imperial 
8vo.,  printed  at  Calcutta  from  the  MS.  of  MacNagh- 
ten.  There  is  another  edition  printed  at  Breslau  by 
Habicht  from  a  Tunis  MS.,  and  a  third  one  at 
Cairo,  or  rather  Boolak,  almost  identical  with  the 


168  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Calcutta  edition.  The  first  and  second  are  also  in  the 
Astor  Library,  but  another  copy  of  the  Boolak  edi- 
ition  is  not  known  to  be  in  this  city.  Torren's  literal 
translation  of  the  first  fifty  nights  from  the  Calcutta 
edition ;  Lane's  translation  of  the  Thousand  and  One 
Nights  from  the  Boolak  edition,  now  quite  scarce, 
and  Lane's  Modern  Egpytians.  These  last  two  works 
of  Lane's  are  abundantly  and  beautifully  illustrated 
with  exact  representations  of  architecture,  costume, 
furniture,  implements,  scenery,  &c.,  and  embrace 
such  a  body  of  exact  and  truthful  display  of  the 
modern  Arabs,  that  most  travellers  of  late  days 
have  used  the  scissors  very  freely  in  making  up  their 
narratives  for  publication. 

There  are  likewise  the  various  translations  of  Gal- 
land,  Scott,  Von  Hammer,  Caussin,  De  Perceval, 
Chaves,  and  Habicht,  and  the  commentary  of  Hole  ; 
Hamilton's  translation  of  a  portion  of  the  Bedawy 
Romance  of  Antar ;  also  the  Tales  of  Shiekh  El  Moh- 
dy;  Dr.  Herklot's  translation  of  Kanoon  el  Islam,  con 
taining  a  very  complete  account  of  the  Mussulmans 
of  India,  and  of  all  their  observances  and  practices 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave;  Life  of  Mohammed 
(Arab  text),  by  Abu'l  Feda;  Extraits  des  Mamiscrits, 
by  De  Sacy,  12  vols,  4to. ;  De  Sacy's  Arabic  Gram 
mar,  Chrestomathy,  and  Anthology.  The  Arabic 
grammars  include  those  of  Erpenius,  of  Savary,  of 


ME,  COTHEAL'S  COLLECTION.  169 

Caspar!,  of  Schier,  of  Bombay,  of  Gailes,  of  Caussin 
de  Perceval,  of  Bresnier,  of  Laporte,  and  almost 
all  the  French  publications  of  those  authors,  Cher- 
bonneau  and  others  upon  the  Algerine  dialect  of 
the  Arabic  language.  Among  the  Dictionaries 
are  those  of  Bocthor,  of  Marcel,  of  Helot,  of  Berg- 
gren,  and  of  Paulmier,  all  French- Arabic ;  Giggeus, 
4  vols.  folio,  and  Freytag,  4  vols.  4to.,  Arabic-Latin ; 
Canes,  3  vols.  folio,  Spanish-Latin-Arabic;  Kasimir- 
ski,  not  yet  finished,  Arabic-French.  There  is  no 
Arabic-English  dictionary,  except  a  small  one  by 
Catafago  very  recently  published.  Lane  has  been 
engaged  many  years  on  one,  the  appearance  of  which 
is  looked  for  with  great  interest  by  oriental  scholars. 
Of  the  Arabic  works  are  almost  all  that  have  issued 
from  the  press  at  Beirut,  including  the  well  known 
Makamat,  or  Sessions  of  the  learned  Sheikh  Naseef 
el  Yazjy,  of  Mount  Lebanon. 

Among  the  oriental  MSS.  are  four  Korans,  all  in 
Arabic  in  different  styles  of  writing,  from  the  beau 
tiful  Neskhy  or  copy-hand,  through  various  modifi 
cations,  to  the  crowded  semi-taleek  of  Southern  Ara 
bia  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Maghreby  or  Moorish 
character  on  the  other ;  also  a  Persian  copy  with  a 
Persian  interlinear  translation;  for  the  Ajemy  or 
non-Arab  Moslems,  never  use  the  Koran  except  in 

the  original  language.    There  is  the  best  commentary 
22 


170  LIBRARIES    OF    IVEW    YORK. 

on  the  Koran  by  Baidhawy,  which  is  the  principal 
authority  on  Mussulman  law.  The  MS.  is  a  very 
large  folio  of  nine  hundred  and  thirty-two  closely- 
written  pages.  The  Fassoolain,  or  the  Two  Divis 
ions  (of  Law),  is  another  great  work  and  Moslem 
authority,  by  Bedr  ad  Deen  Mahommed  ben  Israel, 
original  date  A.  H.  813,  and  copied  in  the  year 
935  (A.  D.  1529).  Also  a  large  folio  of  thirteen 
hundred  and  eighty-four  pages  of  very  compact 
writing.  Both  of  these  MSS.  are  in  oriental  binding, 
and  in  very  good  condition. 

There  is  a  beautiful  copy  of  the  Makamat,  or  Fifty 
Sessions  of  Hariri,  1  vol.  folio.  The  first  thirty-five 
sessions  have  the  harakat  or  vowel-marks,  the  re 
mainder  are  without  them.  The  Arabs  usually 
write  their  language  with  consonants  only,  and  the 
vowels  when  needed  are  placed  above  and  beneath 
the  consonants ;  there  is  Ahmed  ben  Arabshah's  life 
of  Timoor  (Tamerlane) ;  the  Koran  of  Mohammed, 
The  Makamat  of  Hariri,  and  The  Life  of  Timoor,  by 
Ahmed  Ben  Arabshah,  are  the  three  great  classics  of 
Arab  literature,  and  the  models  of  the  language. 
There  are  grammars  by  Ibn  Malik,  Khaled  ben  Abd- 
allah  el  Azhary,  Jemal  ed  Deen  Mohammed,  and 
others.  The  collection  possesses  a  MS.  containing  a 
portion  of  the  One  Thousand  and  One  Nights,  another 
small  MS.  containing  the  tale  of  Sinkhareeb  and  his 


MR.  COTHEAL'S  COLLECTION. 


Wezeer  Hykar.  This  tale  has  been  published  in 
English,  but  the  original  Arabic  is  not  found  in  the 
printed  texts.  The  Shah-nameh  ;  the  Gulistan  ;  the 
Four  Gospels  ;  Tutti  Nameh,  or  Tales  of  the  Panol 
Gulistan,  or  Rose  Garden,  and  various  other  Persian 
manuscripts,  are  in  the  collection  ;  also  Lataif  a  Fa 
cetiae  of  Khoja  Nusz-ed-Deen  Effendi,  in  Turkish,  and 
Narrader  Jehhy,  as  well  as  the  same  in  Arabic.  This 
is  apparently  the  prototype  of  the  German  Eiden- 
spiegel,  which,  after  sleeping  a  century  or  two  in 
English  garb,  has  lately  appeared  in  London  newly 
translated  in  the  old  quaint  style  of  the  original, 
with  all  the  luxury  of  artistic  embellishments  and 
beautiful  typography. 

Among  the  numerous  other  Arabic  manuscripts, 
is  one  written  by  a  Christian  Arab,  containing  a 
letter  from  King  Abjar  to  Our  Saviour,  praying 
him  to  come  and  cure  him  of  his  infirmities.  Our 
Saviour  replies  that  he  is  doing  his  Father's  work 
and  fulfilling  his  mission,  but  that  he  will  send  one 
of  his  disciples  to  heal  him.  King  Abjar  then  sends 
a  skilful  painter  to  take  the  likeness  of  the  Saviour, 
expecting  to  be  cured  by  it.  The  painter  not  being 
able  to  make  one,  Our  Saviour  asks  him  for  his 
handkerchief,  and  after  washing  his  face,  wipes  it 
with  the  handkerchief,  which  he  hands  back  to  the 
envoy,  bearing  the  impress  of  the  Holy  Countenance. 


172  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

He  immediately  wends  his  way  homeward,  and  with 
it  cures  the  king  his  master. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  that  one  of  the 
manuscript  Korans  in  the  collection  was  openly  pur 
chased  from  an  Arab  book-peddler  in  the  streets  of 
Zanzebar,  without  any  scruple  on  the  part  of  the 
vender.  The  copy  is  fairly  written  on  good  paper, 
is  in  the  usual  coarse  binding  and  was  sold  for  two 
dollars,  a  price  that  the  copyist  probably  thought  a 
sufficient  compensation  for  a  labor  doubtless  of  two 
years. 

The  literature  of  the  Arabs  is  by  no  means  an 
inconsiderable  or  insignificant  one.  The  Moalakt, 
poems  composed  in  the  seventh  century,  are  written 
in  a  language  of  great  grammatical  regularity  and 
exhibit  a  high  degree  of  cultivation.  As  poets,  his 
torians,  and  men  of  science,  the  Arabs  occupied  a 
prominent  position,  and  were  likewise  well  versed  in 
the  literature  and  scientific  works  of  the  Egyptians 
and  Greeks.  A  history  of  Arabic  literature,  which 
would  be  a  great  desideratum  to  the  student,  has 
yet  to  be  written. 


WILLIAM  J,  DAVIS'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  is  a  small  collection,  mainly  devoted  to 
American  History,  both  general  and  local.  Its 
chief  specialties  consist  in  works  on  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  and  the  state  and  city  of  New  York. 
It,  however,  possesses  many  of  the  standard  histo 
ries  of  the  several  states. 

Among  the  works  on  the  early  history  of  America, 
are  Acosta's  Natural  and  Morall  Historic  of  the 
East  and  West  Indies,  London,  1604,  translated  by 
Edward  Grimstone;  Blome's  Present  State  of  His 
Majesties  Isles  and  Territories  in  America,  London, 
1687  ;  Father  Hennepin's  New  Discovery  of  a  Vast 
Country  in  America  ;  Oldmixon's  British  Empire  in 
America;  Douglass's  Summary,  Historical  and  Po 
litical  ;  De  Solis's  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mex 
ico,  folio;  and  Col.  Rodgers's  Concise  Account  of 
North  America. 

The  French  and  Indian  war  has  received  due  con 
sideration,  comprising  a  number  of  histories,  jour 
nals  and  tracts,  among  which  may  be  found  "  A 


174  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Complete  History  of  the  Late  War,  or  Annual  Reg 
ister,"  published  anonymously  at  Dublin  in  1774. 
It  is  illustrated  with  maps,  plans  of  fortifications  and 
portraits,  and  appears  to  have  been  compiled  chiefly 
from  the  newspapers  of  the  day.  There  is  also  a 
copy  of  Capt.  John  Knox's  Historical  Journal  of  the 
Campaigns  in  North  America,  in  two  vols.,  quarto. 
This  work  is  considered  one  of  the  most  authentic 
and  reliable  accounts  of  the  events  which  resulted 
in  the  conquest  of  Canada.  The  author  was  present 
and  an  actor  at  the  sieges  of  Quebec,  Cape  Breton, 
&c.,  and  has  detailed  the  several  events  of  these 
campaigns  with  the  utmost  exactness  and  fidelity 
and  with  considerable  literary  ability.  There  is 
likewise  a  rare  and  valuable  tract  entitled  "  The 
Mystery  Revealed,  or  Truth  Brought  to  Light,"  a 
work  supposed  to  have  been  published  by  the  au 
thority  of  the  French  government,  in  answer  to  a 
tract  sent  to  most  of  the  courts  of  Europe  by  the 
English  government,  entitled  "  Observations  on  the 
Memorial  of  France."  It  contains  extracts  from 
public  documents  concerning  Braddock's  Campaign, 
Pepperall's  Campaign  to  Cape  Breton,  and  Major 
Washington's  Journal,  with  an  account  of  his  march, 
Indian  speeches,  and  the  capitulation  of  Fort  Neces 
sity. 

There  are  to  be  found  in  this  collection  all  the 


MK.    DAVIS'S    COLLECTION. 


standard  histories  on  the  American  Revolution, 
commencing  with  Gordon,  in  4  vols.  ;  Warren's,  3 
vols.  ;  Andrews's,  4  vols.;  Ramsay's,  2  vols.;  Mur 
ray's,  2  vols.  ;  Steadman's,  2  vols.,  quarto  ;  Botta,  2 
vols.  ;  Sergt.  Lamb's,  1  vol.  ;  Capt.  Hall's,  1  vol.  ; 
Allen's,  2  vols.  ;  an  Impartial  History  of  the  War, 
Dublin,  1779,  2  vols.;  &c.  Of  biographies,  are 
Marshall's  and  Washington  Irving's  Life  of  Wash 
ington;  Wilkinson's  Memoirs;  Lives  of  John  Jay, 
Gen.  Read,  Elbridge  Gerry,  Arthur  Lee,  Gen. 
Lee,  Gen.  Greene,  Sparks's  Washington;  Heath's 
Memoirs,  Willet's  Narrative,  Thatcher's  Journal, 
Simcoe's  Journal,  &c.  There  is  likewise  an  exceed 
ingly  scarce  book,  entitled  "  Lieut.  James  Moody's 
Narrative  of  his  Exertions  and  Sufferings  in  the 
Cause  of  Government."  This  copy  is  enriched  with 
very  copious  autograph  notes  by  the  author,  and  may 
be  considered  unique.  The  author  was  originally 
a  farmer  in  New  Jersey,  and  on  the  breaking  out  of 
the  revolutionary  troubles  took  sides  with  the  loy 
alists,  by  which  course  he  became  obnoxious  to 
his  neighbors,  and  was  obliged  to  seek  refuge  in 
New  York.  Being  of  an  adventurous  spirit,  he, 
with  a  few  others  similarly  situated,  organized  an 
independent  company,  and  ultimately  became  one  of 
the  greatest  scourges  of  New  Jersey.  The  simple 
report  of  his  being  in  the  neighborhood  was  suffi- 


176  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

cient  to  cause  the  greatest  alarm.  It  was  he  who 
made  the  attempt  to  abduct  Gov.  Livingston  from 
his  house  near  Elizabethtown,  which  a  mere  acci 
dent  prevented  his  accomplishing.  He  likewise  en 
deavored  to  steal  the  papers  and  documents  of  the 
Continental  Congress  from  the  State  House  at  Phil 
adelphia,  in  which  affair  his  brother  and  another 
confederate  were  captured  and  executed,  and  Moody 
himself  escaped  with  the  greatest  difficulty.  (One 
of  the  MS.  notes  in  this  copy  gives  a  very  full  ac 
count  of  this  escape).  It  was  he  who  captured  the 
dispatches  of  Washington,  which  misled  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  who  supposed  that  New  York  was  to  be 
the  point  of  attack  of  the  combined  American  and 
French  forces  instead  of  Yorktown.  In  one  of  these 
marauding  expeditions  he  was,  however,  captured 
by  General  Wayne,  and  sent  to  West  Point,  and, 
after  a  rigorous  confinement,  effected  his  escape. 
His  book  was  first  published  anonymously,  and  the 
exploits  were  considered  too  marvellous  for  belief. 
He  therefore  issued  another  edition,  much  enlarged, 
containing  several  vouchers  as  to  its  authenticity, 
signed  by  a  number  of  distinguished  officers  and 
clergymen.  The  copy  in  this  collection  is  of  the 
second  edition,  London,  1783.  There  is  a  fair  collec 
tion  of  tracts,  among  which  are  Galloway's,  Wes 
ley's,  Sir  Henry  Clinton's,  and  Sir  William  Howe's. 


MR.    DA  VIS'S    COLLECTION.  177 

Among  state  histories  are  Stith's  Virginia,  of  tire 
Williamsburgh  edition;  Frond's  Pennsylvania;  Hut- 
chinson's  and  Minot's  Massachusetts ;  Williams' s 
Vermont;  Sullivan's  Maine;  Du  Pratz's  Louisiana; 
and  Barber  and  Howe's  different  state  collections. 
On  the  state  of  New  York  are  Smith's  New  York ; 
Moulton's  History  of  New  York  (an  exceedingly 
scarce  work) ;  Dunlap's ;  and  the  recent  ones  of 
O'Callaghan,  Brodhead,  &c.,  together  with  the  histo 
ries  of  the  counties. 

The  city  of  New  York  has  a  prominent  place  in 
the  collection,  and  exemplifies  an  assiduous  desire 
to  secure  all  that  may  show  its  past  history  as  well 
as  its  gradual  progress.  The  Guide  Books,  or  Pic 
tures  of  New  York,  are  an  interesting  feature  of  this 
collection,  and  comprise  all  that  have  been  pub 
lished.  The  first  in  chronological  order  is  entitled 
"  The  Picture  of  New  York ;  or  the  Traveller's 
Guide  through  the  Commercial  Metropolis  of  the 
United  States,  1807."  This  was  written  by  Dr. 
Samuel  L.  Mitchill.  The  next  in  point  of  time 
is  called  a  Concise  Description  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  1814.  The  author  was  the  Rev.  John 
Stanford,  who  interested  himself  in  the  welfare  of 
those  persons  who  were  confined  in  prison,  and 
officiated  for  many  years  as  chaplain.  This  little 

book  is  quite  rare;  but  one  other  copy  is  known 
23 


178  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

to  the  writer.*  Blunt' s  Stranger's  Guide  to  the  City 
of  New  York,  1817 ;  The  Picture  of  New  York  and 
Strangers'  Guide,  1828 — the  last  published  in  1854, 
are  in  this  collection ;  also  a  complete  set  of  the  "  Man 
ual  of  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  New  York,"  an 
interesting  work  published  annually  by  the  city, 
containing  a  list  of  the  various  offices  and  the  per 
sons  employed  therein,  and  historical  matter  taken 
from  the  old  records,  views,  <fec. 

There  is  likewise  a  collection  of  books  on  the 
Prison  Ships  of  the  Revolution,  some  of  which  are 
of  considerable  rarity.  Among  these  are  Captain 
Dring's  Recollections  of  the  Jersey  Prison  Ship, 
New  York,  1831 ;  Rev.  Thomas  Andross's  Old  Jer 
sey  Captive ;  Memoirs  of  Andrew  Sherburne ;  Eben- 
ezer  Fox's  Revolutionary  Adventures ;  History  of 
the  interment  of  the  remains  of  eleven  thousand 
five  hundred  seamen  and  soldiers  at  the  Wallabout, 
1808.  These  narratives  describe,  with  the  simplicity 
of  truth,  the  enormities  to  which  their  cruel  keepers 
subjected  them,  and  afford  a  lively  exemplification 
of  patriotism  over  suffering. 

The  collection  contains  a  number  of  early  Ameri 
can  works  on  general  literature,  such  as  Drake  and 
Freneau,  with  many  standard  ones  of  a  more  recent 
date.  The  books  are  in  good  condition,  and  some 
are  handsomely  bound. 

*  In  Mr.  Folsom's  Library. 


DANIEL  EMBURY'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  Library,  which  contains  about  four  thousand 
volumes,  has  evidently  been  collected  rather  with 
the  view  of  gratifying  the  demands  of  a  cultivated 
taste,  than  from  any  purpose  of  mere  display.  It 
contains  a  number  of  valuable  works  of  reference, 
upon  such  topics  as  are  likely  to  arise  in  daily  life, 
besides  some  specialties,  which  develop  the  tastes  of 
its  possessor.  In  the  departments  of  Belles-Lettres, 
History,  Biography,  Antiquities  and  Mathematics, 
are  to  be  found  many  excellent  works. 

The  Belles-Lettres  Department,  which,  numerically 
considered,  constitutes  about  one-fourth  of  the  collec 
tion,  without  pretending  to  be  at  all  complete,  com 
prises  many  of  the  best  English  poets,  historians, 
essayists,  biographers,  novelists,  and  miscellaneous 
writers.  In  this  department  may  be  named  The  Gen 
tleman's  Magazine,  from  its  commencement  in  1731, 
nearly  down  to  the  present  time,  in  upward  of  250 
volumes;  Dictionnaire  de  Bayle,  16  vols.  8vo. ; 


180  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

EArt  de  Verifier  les  Dates,  49  vols.  8vo. ;  Causes 
Celebres,  10  vols.  8vo. ;  and  an  ample  collection  of 
dictionaries  and  lexicons  in  various  languages.  In 
French  are  the  works  of  Moliere,  Corneille,  Racine, 
Montaigne,  Saint  Pierre,  Marmontel,  Le  Sage,  De 
Stael,  Massillon,  and  many  others.  In  Italian,  those 
of  Dante,  of  Boccaccio,  of  Petrarca,  of  Ariosto,  of 
Tasso,  of  Giannone,  of  Vasari,  of  Galluzzi,  of  Tira- 
boschi,  of  Alfieri,  of  Botta,  &c. 

The  Greek  and  Latin  Classics  are  fairly  repre 
sented;  among  them  are  two  Elzevirs,  some  few 
volumes  in  folio  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the 
XVIth  century,  and  a  copy  of  the  beautiful  edition 
of  Virgil  after  the  Vatican  MS.,  printed  at  Rome  in 
the  year  1765,  in  3  vols.  folio,  with  plates,  and  a 
translation  in  Italian  verse  at  the  foot  of  the  page. 

In  the  Antiquarian  Department  are  many  val 
uable  works;  such  as  Montfaucon's  Antiquite  II- 
lustree  par  Gravures,  9  vols.  folio ;  Scheuchzer's 
Physique  Sacree,  8  vols.  folio,  with  brilliant  impres 
sions  of  its  numerous  plates,  representing  the  natural 
history  of  the  Bible ;  Ceremonies  Heligieuses,  7  vols. 
folio,  with  fine  plates;  Monde  Primitif,  9  vols. 
folio ;  Grose's  Antiquities  of  England,  Scotland  and 
Wales,  Military  Antiquities,  &c.,  15  vols.  folio, 
large  paper ;  Grose  and  Astle's  Antiquarian  Reper 
tory,  4  vols.  4to.;  an  old  translation  of  Olaus  Mag- 


MR.  EMBURY'S  COLLECTION.  181 

nus,  in  Italian,  with  wood-cuts  in  the  style  of  the 
Nuremberg  Chronicle;  the  Harleian  Miscellany,  8 
vols.  4to. ;  Lett/res  Edifiantes  et  Curieuses,  8  vols. 
8vo. ;  Beausobre's  History  of  Manicheism,  2  vols. 
4to. ;  Le  Moyen  Age  et  la  Renaissance,  being 
a  history  and  description  of  the  Customs  and 
Manners,  of  the  Commerce  and  Industry,  of  the 
Arts  and  Sciences,  of  the  Literature  and  Fine  Arts, 
in  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages,  by  Paul  La 
Croix,  Ferdinand  Sere,  and  A.  Renaud,  5  vols.  4to., 
Paris,  1851,  profusely  illustrated  with  wood-cuts  and 
richly  colored  plates ;  John  Baptista  de  la  Porta's 
Physiognomy,  translated  from  Latin  into  Italian, 
Venice,  1643,  with  curious  wood-cuts,  comparing  the 
human  head  and  face  with  those  of  birds  and  beasts, 
1  vol.  folio,  containing  also  papers  on  the  same  and 
similar  subjects,  by  Giovanni  Ingegnieri,  Bishop  of 
Capo  d'Istria ;  Ludovico  Settali,  and  Polemon — the 
last  translated  from  the  Greek;  Lavater's  Physiog 
nomy,  bound  in  5  vols.  4to.,  illustrated  with  upward 
of  800  line  engravings,  London,  1789-98  ;  Tlieatrum 
Virorum  eruditione  Clarorum,  by  Paul  Freherus,  1 
vol.  folio,  JSTuremburg,  1688,  with  1315  portraits; 
and  Stothard's  Monumental  Effigies,  1  vol.  folio. 

In  the  Department  of  History,  is  the  collection 
on  Universal  History,  Ancient  and  Modern,  in  25 
vols.  folio,  highly  commended  by  Dr.  Johnson ;  and 


182  LIBRARIES    OF    XEW    YORK. 

an  excellent  collection  on  China  and  Japan,  including 
Du  Halde's  China,  2  vols.  folio,  both  the  English 
and  French  editions ;  Grosier's  China,  T  vols.  8vo. ; 
The  Earl  Macartney's  Embassy  to  China,  2  vols. 
4to.,  with  Barrow's  Account  of  the  Embassy;  Ellis' s 
Narrative  of  Lord  Amherst's  Embassy  to  China; 
The  Penal  Code  of  China ;  The  Chou-King  of  Con 
fucius;  The  Gentoo  Code  of  Laws;  Kaempfer's 
Japan,  2  vols.  folio ;  Charlevoix's  Histoire  du  Japan, 
6  vols.  12  mo. ;  together  with  the  recently  pub 
lished  account  of  the  Expedition  to  Japan,  under 
the  command  of  Commodore  Perry,  3  vols.  4to. 

The  books  on  America  comprise  some  of  the  best 
on  this  subject,  as  Lord  Kingsborough's  work  on 
Mexican  Antiquities,  in  9  vols.  folio,  colored  plates ; 
Schoolcraft's  Indian  Tribes,  6  vols.  4to.,  colored 
plates;  Humboldt's,  4  vols.  large  4to.,  with  atlas; 
the  early  American  historians  in  Spanish,  as,  Her- 
rera,  Torquemada,  Gumilla,  Venegas,  Solis,  Garcil- 
aso  de  la  Vega,  and  Barcia;  also  ISTavarrette's  col 
lection  of  Voyages ;  in  Italian,  are  Clavigero,  and 
the  Codice  Diplomatico ;  in  French,  are  Charlevoix, 
Laiitau  and  others ;  and  the  earliest  and  latest  Ex 
plorations  undertaken  by  order  of  the  government. 

Among  the  books  in  general  on  Asia  are  Sir 
William  Jones's  works,  9  vols.  4to. ;  Asiatic  Re 
searches,  12  vols.  8vo. ;  D'Herbelot's  Bibliotlieque 


ME.  EMBUBY'S  COLLECTION.  183 

Orientate,  folio ;  Maurice's  Indian  Antiquities,  7  vols. ; 
Maurice's  Ancient  and  Modern  History  of  Hindostan, 
5  vols.  4to. ;  Coleman's  Hindoo  Mythology,  4to. ; 
Forbes's  Oriental  Memoirs,  4  vols.  4to;  the  Ayeen 
Akberry,  or  the  Institutes  of  the  Emperor  Akbar,  2 
vols.  4to. ;  and  the  Sacred  Books  of  Ceylon,  3  vols. 
8vo. 

In  Biography  are  the  Biographic  Universelle,  52 
vols.  8vo. ;  EHistoire  des  Empereurs  Romains,  by 
Crevier,  12  vols.  12mo. ;  with  many  individual  biog 
raphies  in  various  languages. 

Among  the  Voyages  and  Travels  are  Cook's  Voy 
ages  and  Life,  9  vols.  4to. ;  UHistoire  des  Voyages  by 
Prevost,  19  vols.  4to. ;  Burney's  History  of  Voyages 
to  the  Pacific,  5  vols.  4to. ;  the  Travels  of  Bruce,  5 
vols.  4to.,  and  Life ;  Clarke,  4  vols.  4to. ;  Pococke,  2 
vols.  folio ;  Shaw ;  Sandys  ;  Marco  Polo ;  Purchas ; 
and  the  collection  in  Italian  by  Ramusio,  in  3  vols. 
4to. ;  and  a  splendid  large-paper  copy  of  Hakluyt  in 
5  vols.  folio,  of  which  only  250  copies  were  printed. 

The  most  prominent  feature  in  this  library  is  its 
excellent  collection  of  Mathematical  and  Astronom 
ical  works,  giving  a  tolerably  perfect  view  of  the  state 
of  these  sciences  at  the  present  time.  In  it  are  found 
the  works  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  edited  by  Bishop 
Horsley,  5  vols.  4to ;  La  Place's  Mecanique  Celeste,  and 
other  works.  The  works  of  La  Grange,  Lalande, 


184  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Legendre,  Monge,  D'Alembert,  Biot,  Euler,  Ber 
noulli!,  La  Croix,  Montucla  (History  of  Mathemat 
ics),  Maclaurin,  Simpson,  Emerson,  Barrow,  Journal 
de  UEoole  Poly  technique,  Apollonius's  Conies,  Ptole 
my's  Almagest e  in  Greek  and  French,  2  vols.  4to., 
and  many  other  works. 

Not  far  removed  from  these  monuments  of  the 
exact  sciences,  the  visitor  will  doubtless  be  much 
surprised  to  encounter  a  curious  collection  of  books 
on  Demonology,  the  most  inexact  of  all  subjects; 
and  so  well  is  the  owner  aware  of  the  incongruity 
of  the  two  classes,  that  he  feels  it  incumbent  on  him 
self  to  explain  the  origin  of  this  collection,  lest  it 
might  be  supposed  that  he  had  fallen  into  the 
absurdities  of  modern  Spiritualism.  The  fearful 
denunciations  of  the  Old  Testament  against  the 
practice  of  witchcraft,  sorcery  and  divination;  the 
apparition  of  Samuel  evoked  by  the  Witch  of  En- 
dor;  the  interpretation  of  dreams;  the  inspiration 
of  the  prophets,  leading,  no  doubt,  to  the  preten 
sions  of  the  seers  of  Scotland  to  the  gift  of  second 
sight;  the  visitations  of  angels,  the  voices  of  in 
visible  beings,  in  "  the  airy  tongues  that  syllable 
men's  names ;"  the  mysterious  handwriting  on  the 
wall,  and  the  strange  interpretation  thereof;  the 
opening  of  prison  doors  by  unseen  hands ;  the  belief 
in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and,  of  course,  in  a 


MK.  EMBURY'S  COLLECTION.  185 

place  of  departed  spirits ;  all  these  facts  recorded  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures  imply  supernatural  agencies, 
and  almost  necessarily  lead  the  mind  to  an  investi 
gation  of  the  causes  and  nature  of  such  startling 
phenomena.  Hence  the  resort  to  books  on  Demon- 
ology.  Besides,  when  it  is  considered  how  many 
thousands  of  human  beings  at  different  periods 
of  the  world,  and  in  civilized  countries,  too,  have 
been  condemned  to  the  most  cruel  tortures  and 
painful  death  upon  the  accusation,  without  adequate 
proof,  of  diabolical  practices,  or  a  supposed  alliance 
with  the  powers  of  darkness,  it  is  not  at  all  surprising 
that  the  reader  of  sacred  and  profane  history  should 
turn  from  the  records  of  these  mysteries  to  the 
books  that  profess  to  treat  of,  and  to  throw  some 
light  upon  them.  In  this  department  are  Delrio 
on  Magic,  Albertus  Magnus,  Cornelius  Agrippa,  The 
Malleus  Malleficarum,  The  Prophecies  of  Nostra 
damus,  Reginald  Scott's  Discovery  of  Witchcraft^ 
Calmet's  Phantom  World,  Blondel  on  Oracles ;  Glan- 
ville,  Webster,  Hutchinson,  Savary,  and  Macleod  on 
Witchcraft ;  Wright's  Sorcery  and  Magic ;  Sir  Wal 
ter  Scott's  Demonology ;  Henderson  and  Macleod  on 
Divine  Inspiration ;  Sir  Kenelm  Digby  on  the  Body 
and  the  Soul ;  Whiston,  Farmer,  Tell,  on  the  Demo 
niacs  of  the  New  Testament ;  Hibbert,  Ferriar,  Du 

Fresnoy,  Du  Lude  on  Apparitions ;  Sibley,  Barnett, 
24 


186  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

Oxley,  Ptolemy,  Jamblichus  on  Astrology,  &c. ; 
Spencer  on  Prodigies;  Le  Brun  on  Superstitious 
Practices ;  The  Dictionnaire  Infernal,  Salverte  on 
the  Occult  Sciences,  Dalgell  on  the  Darker  Super 
stitions  of  Scotland,  <fec.,  &c. 

This  collection  contains  nearly  every  author  re 
ferred  to  in  Scott's  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,  and 
Lady  of  the  Lake,  and  is  particularly  rich  in  works 
on  the  superstitions  of  the  northern  nations,  includ 
ing  Scotland  and  Iceland.  In  this  particular  depart 
ment  Mr.  Embury's  library  exceeds,  both  in  the 
number  of  volumes  and  the  carefulness  of  the  selec 
tion,  any  other  with  which  the  writer  is  familiar. 


D.  W.  FISKE'S  LIBRARY. 


ME.  FISKE,  who  is  the  secretary  of  the  American 
Geographical  and  Statistical  Society,  prior  to  1853, 
spent  three  years  in  the  north  of  Europe,  where  he 
devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  old  Northern  or 
Icelandic  tongue,  and  to  researches  into  the  history 
and  antiquities  of  Scandinavia  in  general.  His  col 
lection,  though  small,  comprises  two  or  three  curious 
specialties,  and  contains  a  number  of  rare  and  val 
uable  volumes.  About  two-thirds  of  the  books  are 
such  as  relate  to  the  language,  the  literature  and  the 
history  of  the  remarkable  island  of  Iceland.  In 
works  printed  in  the  island  itself,  and  in  the  modern 
productions  of  Icelandic  literary  labor,  there  is  prob 
ably  no  richer  collection  in  the  country.  The  most 
remarkable  of  this  class  are  the  Saga  of  Olaf, 
(Skallholt,  1688);  the  Landnamabok,  (ibid.,'  1 688)  ; 
the  Collection  of  Sagas,  by  Marcusson  (Holar,  1756) ; 
Norsku  Log  (Hrappsey,  1779) ;  Sckultzeris  Heim- 


188  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

skringla  (ibid.,  1799) ;  Eptirmali  ISdi  Aldar  (Lei- 
ragard,  1806)  ;  Sagnafroida  (ibid.,  1804) ;  Klaus- 
tir  Posturinn  (Videyar  Klaustri,  1818-27) ;  an  Ice 
landic  newspaper  in  nine  volumes ;  the  prose  trans 
lations  of  the  Odyssey  (ibid.,  1830-40);  a  set  of  the 
publications  connected  with  the  High  School  at 
Reykjavik,  and  of  the  proceedings  of  the  various 
sessions  of  the  Icelandic  Congress,  neatly  printed  in 
stout  octavos  at  the  national  press  in  the  capital  of 
the  island.  Besides  these  Mr.  Fiske  has  collected  a 
great  number  of  political  tracts  and  files  of  newspa 
pers  covering  the  last  half-century  of  Iceland's  his 
tory. 

Among  the  books  treating  of  Iceland,  but  printed 
outside  of  that  country,  are  all  the  publications  of 
the  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries  (Copen 
hagen),  including  the  Transactions  and  Memoirs  in 
twenty-five  volumes;  almost  all  those  voluminous 
texts  and  treatises  given  to  the  world  by  the  Arna- 
Magnsean  Commission  of  Copenhagen,  by  the  Swed 
ish  Archaeological  Society,  by  the  Old  Northern 
Literary  Union  (Copenhagen),  by  the  Icelandic 
Society  of  Literature,  about  half  of  the  Icelandic 
texts  published  in  Sweden  from  the  seventeenth  to 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  all  the  Sagas  edited  by 
members  of  the  new  school  of  Icelandic  philology  at 
Christiania.  There  is  also  a  series,  nearly  complete, 


MR.  FISKE'S  COLLECTION,  189 

of  the  Icelandic  books  which  issued  from  the  press 
at  Copenhagen  from  1735  to  1850. 

The  collection  of  Icelandic  grammars  and  diction 
aries  in  Swedish,  Danish,  English,  and  German,  is 
almost  perfect.  Among  these  is  a  copy  of  Bj6rn 
Haldorsen's  Lexicon,  with  two  thousand  manuscript 
additions,  by  a  northern  scholar,  and  an  English- 
Icelandic  vocabulary,  compiled  by  Mr.  Fiske  for 
his  own  use,  and  carefully  written  out  in  a  folio 
volume. 

The  Edda  of  Soemund,  the  grand  old  mythologic 
Epos  of  the  North,  is  here  represented  in  the  various 
texts,  translations  and  commentaries  of  Resenius, 
Rask,  Munch,  Afzelius,  Grimm,  Mallet,  Dasent, 
Marmier,  Ring,  and  Cassell.  Runic  letters  and 
Runic  stories  are  illustrated  by  Liljegren,  Brynjulfs- 
son,  Worm,  Thorsen,  and  Goransson.  Among  the 
translations  into  Icelandic  are  the  Bible,  Paradise 
Lost,  Klopstock's  Messias,  Homer's  Iliad  and  Odys 
sey,  Pope's  Essay  on  Man,  and  portions  of  the 
Arabian  Nights,  and  of  the  works  of  Byron,  Frank 
lin,  Irving,  &c. 

The  great  poems  of  Homer  and  Milton  are  ren 
dered,  not  in  the  long  and  stately  metre  of  the  orig 
inals,  but  in  the  equally  sublime  alliterative  measure 
of  the  elder  Edda.  The  following  from  the  Odyssey 
may  serve  as  a  specimen : 


190  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"  Nu  vora  Jfeppar 
Xemnir  allir 
Heim  ur  Midi 
Og  ftafs  volki."* 

The  original  Icelandic  works  of  the  last  few  years, 
during  which  the  press  of  that  remote  country  has 
been  uncommonly  active,  consist  mainly  of  volumes 
of  poetry,  and  political,  agricultural  and  religious 
essays.  There  are  the  Felagsrit  (sixteen  volumes), 
Slcirnir  (twenty-eight  volumes),  both  periodicals, 
and  the  Fornmanna  Sogur  (twelve  volumes).  One 
of  the  curiosities  of  the  collection  is  Ari  Frodi's 
Schedce  de  Islandia,  dated  Oxford,  1716,  but  which 
was  really  printed  twenty  years  earlier,  and  of  which 
almost  the  entire  impression  w^as  destroyed.  Another 
is  the  curious  literary  forgery,  Historia  Hjal/mari, 
a  folio,  printed  in  Runic  letters  at  Stockholm,  1710. 

It  was  first  issued  in  Upsala  in  1690,  as  a  collegi 
ate  disputation,  under  the  auspices  of  a  student  by 
the  name  of  Halpap,  who  pretended  to  have  discov 
ered  it  under  somewhat  singular  circumstances  in  a 
Swedish  peasant's  hut.  The  story  runs  that  the  cel 
ebrated  Rudbeck  composed  it  for  the  purpose  of 
imposing  on  the  credulity  of  Peringskjold,  who  was 

*  This  Icelandic  translation  is  represented  as  nearly  as  possible 
by  the  following  lines  from  Pope's  English  version  : 

"Now  at  their  native  realms  the  Greeks  arrived, 
And  'scaped  the  perils  of  the  gulfy  main." 


MK.  FISKE'S  COLLECTION.  191 

induced,  after  many  years  had  elapsed,  to  publish  it 
in  this  form,  with  a  translation  into  Latin  and  Swed 
ish.  Peringskjold  was  so  annoyed  at  the  success  of 
the  cheat  that  he  is  reported  to  have  burned  all  the 
copies  that  he  could  obtain.  However  that  may  be, 
it  is  certain  that  it  is  very  rare  even  in  Sweden. 

The  extremely  rare  works  of  Torfaeus,  the  Vin- 
landia,  the  Historia  Hrolfi  Krakii  and  the  Commen- 
tatie  re  Rebus,  gestis  Fcereyensium  (Copenhagen, 
1695  to  1Y15),  as  well  as  the  other  productions  of 
this  celebrated  scholar,  are  all  in  Mr.  Fiske's  collec 
tion.  The  1576  edition  of  Saxo  Grammaticus,  the 
Basle  and  Rome  editions  of  Magnus,  the  old  works 
of  Bjorner,  Worm,  Verelius,  and  Arngrim  Jonas,  are 
infrequent  and  valuable  books.  The  English  books 
treating  of  Iceland  are  nearly  all  here ;  such  as  the 
translations  of  Horrebow,  Von  Troil,  Mallet,  Rask, 
Keyser,  and  Rafn,  the  works  of  Johnston  (a  rare 
series  privately  printed  in  Copenhagen  in  the  last 
century),  of  Percy,  Cottle,  Mackenzie,  Henderson, 
Hooker,  Barrow,  Wheaton,  Beamish,  Smith,  Weber, 
and  Jamieson,  Laing,  Pigott,  Marsh,  Dillon,  Pfeiffer, 
Miles,  <fec.,  &G.  The  works  in  various  languages, 
illustrative  of  the  ante-Columbian  discovery  of 
America  by  the  Icelanders  and  Norwegians,  form  an 
interesting  little  collection. 

In  the  miscellaneous  portion  of  this  collection  are  a 


192  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

goodly  number  of  works  in  Swedish  and  Danish 
literature,  many  of  them  gifts  to  Mr.  Fiske  from 
Miss  Bremer,  Hans  Christian  Andersen,  Bottiger 
and  Atterbom  the  poets,  and  Professors  Rafn,  Munch, 
Schroder,  Keyser,  Berggren,  the  orientalist,  and 
others.  Scandinavian  bibliography  is  very  full, 
consisting  of  catalogues  of  libraries,  auction  and 
publishers'  lists,  literary  histories,  and  so  on.  The 
first  work  printed  by  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  Upsala, 
1709,  is  excessively  rare,  and  a  copy  of  the  original 
edition  in  this  collection  is  probably  the  only  one 
that  has  ever  crossed  the  ocean.  Mr.  Fiske  possesses 
nearly  every  one  of  the  books  relating  to  the  early 
Swedish  settlements  on  the  Delaware,  including  the 
rarely  met  with  works  of  Campanius,  Acrelius,  and 
Swedberg.  The  only  full  and  accurate  list  of  these 
early  accounts  of  Delaware  ever  published  was  fur 
nished  three  years  ago  by  Mr.  Fiske  to  Norton's  Lit 
erary  Gazette.  From  it  the  reader  learns  that  bibli 
ographers  have  frequently  made  a  curious  mistake 
with  regard  to  the  first-named  book.  The  author 
styles  himself  on  the  title-page  Thomas  Campanius 
Holm — that  is,  Holmiensis — of  Stockholm.  The 
meaning  of  the  abbreviation  has  been  so  little  un 
derstood  that  even  Duponceau,  the  translator,  seems 
to  have  supposed  that  the  author's  name  was  Holm. 
Copies  of  Duponceau's  version  are  very  often  met 


ME.  FIBRE'S  COLLECTION.  193 

with  in  libraries,  lettered  on  the  back  "  Holrrfs  New 
Sweden? 

In  this  collection,  are  several  books  on  Finnish 
philology,  and  a  few  works  of  Finnish  literature. 
Among  the  latter  is  the  original  of  the  well-known 
Kalevala,  the  accurate  Swedish  version  of  Castren, 
translations  into  French  and  German,  and  several 
tracts  and  commentaries  illustrating  this  remarkable 
Epic.  The  three  leading  characteristics  of  this 
poem  are,  first,  its  peculiar  trochaic  metre ;  secondly, 
its  frequent  alliteration;  and  thirdly,  a  striking 
method  of  always  repeating  the  same  thought 
couched  in  a  different  form  of  expression.  Mr. 
Longfellow  has  admirably  shown  the  pleasant  and 
novel  effect  produced  by  this  style  of  poetical  com 
position  in  his  poem  of  Hiawatha. 

Besides  the  Scandinavian  books,  this  collection 
contains  some  Persian  texts  and  philological  works. 

There  is  also  a  perfect  set  of  the  Dacotah  publi 
cations,  as  enumerated  in  the  list  published  in 
Riggs's  Dacotah  Lexicon,  and  a  number  of  books 
in  the  Ojibewa,  Choctaw,  Mohawk,  Seneca  and 
Greenlandic  languages. 

But  the  most  noteworthy  feature  in  this  little 
collection,  is  the  part  occupied  by  the  works  on 
Chess.  The  possessor  has  had  charge  of  a  monthly 

publication  (The  Chess  Monthly),  intended  to  illus- 
25 


194  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

trate  the  literature,  history  and  practice  of  this  fas 
cinating  game,  since   the   commencement  of  1857. 
Preparatory  to  this  undertaking,  he  within  a  few 
months  got  together  a  large  number  of  the  best  books 
on  this  subject.     His  collection  is  only  surpassed  in 
the  United  States  by  that  of  Professor  George  Allen, 
of   the   University   of    Pennsylvania,    whose   chess 
library  is  one  of  the  richest  in  the  world.     The  col 
lection   contains   the   rare  Gustavus  Selenus  (folio, 
-Leipzig,  1616),  written  by  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
and  illustrated  by  several  remarkable  copper-plates ; 
among  them  is  a  large  engraving  on  a  folding  sheet, 
representing  the  Duke  engaged  at  chess,  and  some 
elegant   figures  of  the  chess  pieces.     On  the  title- 
page,  at  the  top,  is  a  scene,  with  burning  Troy  in 
the  distance,  and  Palamedes  playing  chess  in  the 
foreground.    At  the  bottom  is  graphically  portrayed 
the  well-known  anecdote  of  Columbus  and  the  egg. 
Curiously  enough,  the  faces  of  Palamedes  and  Co 
lumbus  are  portraits  of  the  ducal  author. 

Here,  too,  are  Weickhmanri's  old  treatise  in  Ger 
man  (also  a  folio,  1664)  ;  the  little  quarto  of  Aquila 
(Oppenheim,  1516)  ;  Budden's  scarce  translation  of 
Greco  (London,  1656) ;  Saul's  Famous  Game  of 
Cheese-play  (London,  1640) ;  a  French  Greco  of 
1718  ;  Ponziani,  in  the  accurate  reprint  (Rome,  1829), 
containing  the  autograph  of  the  celebrated  astrono- 


ME.  FISKE'S  COLLECTION.     .  195 

mer  Schumacher ;  and  Cazenove's  privately  printed 
collection  of  games;  likewise  a  Stamma  (1745); 
the  entertaining  volumes  of  Twiss  (1787-89) ;  the 
first  edition  of  Philidor  (1749)  ;  the  second  edition, 
(1777),  with  Bartolozzi's  elegantly  engraved  portrait 
of  the  author,  and  many  subsequent  editions.  There 
are  also  most  of  the  modern  works  of  Staunton, 
Lewis,  Jaenisch,  Walker,  Kling,  Sarratt,  Stein,  Mon- 
tigny,  Reinganum,  Massman,  Cochrane,  Wahl,  Mad 
den,  Douce,  Schmid,  Pratt,  Bledow,  Bilguer,  and 
others.  There  are  Lamb's  History  of  Chess,  Pohl- 
man's  profusely  illustrated  work,  the  reprint  of  the 
Ludus  Scacchise  (1810);  Alexandras  two  large  and 
elegant  quartos,  the  Traite  des  Amateurs  (1786) ; 
and  English  translations  of  Ruy  Lopez,  Damiano, 
Greco,  Ponziani,  Carrera,  Gianutio,  Salvio,  Lambe's 
History  of  Chess,  Forbes's  privately  printed  histori 
cal  pamphlet,  <fec.,  &c.  There  are  also  the  various 
chess  magazines  heretofore  published,  of  which  some 
have  reached  an  existence  of  seventeen  years.  Mr. 
Fiske  has  taken  particular  pains  to  obtain  the  various 
American  publications  on  the  game,  and  has  almost 
a  complete  set  from  the  first  one  (Philadelphia, 
1803),  down  to  this  year. 

The  extent  and  importance  of  the  literature  of 
chess  have  not  till  lately  been  generally  understood. 
As  an  amusement,  chess  has  been  the  favorite  recrea- 


196  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

tion  of  kings  and  warriors,  from  the  days  of  Tamerlane 
to  those  of  Napoleon ;  and  as  a  science,  it  has  furnished 
a  subject  for  the  investigation  of  the  learned  for  many 
ages.  In  Philology  it  throws  some  curious  rays  of 
light  upon  the  study  of  the  Indo-Germanic  tongues, 
and  in  history  it  forms  one  of  the  most  intimate  points 
of  union  between  Asia  and  Europe.  It  has  built  up 
in  the  various  Eastern  and  Western  languages  a  large 
and  pleasant  literature,  much  of  it  written  by  some 
of  the  most  acute  and  erudite  literati  of  the  day  in 
which  they  lived.  Within  the  last  half  century  over 
four  hundred  volumes  have  been  published  on  this 
noble  and  intellectual  game. 


GEORGE  FOLSOM'S  LIBRARY. 


MR.  FOLSOM'S  Library  contains  about  seven  thou 
sand  volumes,  chiefly  devoted  to  history  and  geog 
raphy,  but  yet  including  a  respectable  collection  of 
works  on  classical  and  general  literature,  theology, 
art  and  natural  history. 

The  residence  of  its  possessor  for  several  years  in 
Holland,  enabled  him  to  make  large  additions  to 
that  portion  of  the  library  printed  in  the  Dutch 
language,  or  relating  to  subjects  connected  with 
Dutch  literature,  which  constitutes  a  considerable 
part  of  the  collection;  and  in  this  respect  it  pos 
sesses,  for  an  American  library,  a  somewhat  unique 
character,  as,  with  the  exception  of  the  pastors  of 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Churches,  few  literary  men  of 
the  present  day  in  the  United  States  possess  much 
knowledge  of  this  old  Saxon  dialect,  although  its 
German  sister  stands  in  high  repute  among  scholars. 
Why  the  literature  of  Holland — for  it  has  a  litera 
ture  well  worthy  of  careful  examination — should  be 
so  completely  overlooked,  especially  in  the  originally 


198  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Dutch  community  of  New  York,  is  a  question  left 
for  the  reader  to  solve  for  himself. 

In  this  portion  of  the  collection  is  the  Vader- 
landsche  Historic  of  Jan  Wagenaar,  in  twenty-one 
volumes,  with  a  continuation  by  Stuart  in  four  vol 
umes.  This  is  the  standard  history  of  Holland,  and 
is  as  much  admired  for  the  gracefulness  of  its  style 
as  that  of  its  great  contemporary  history  of  England 
by  Hume.  Indeed,  in  point  of  research  and  relia 
bility,  as  well  as  in  the  correctness  of  political  prin 
ciples,  the  Dutch  historian  enjoys  a  higher  reputa 
tion  at  the  present  day  than  his  co-laborer  in  English 
history.  The  political  tracts  of  this  writer,  published 
after  his  death  in  one  volume,  a  treatise  on  the  Office 
of  Stadtholder,  and  an  elaborate  history  of  the  City 
of  Amsterdam  in  three  folio  volumes,  are  likewise  in 
the  collection. 

There  is  also  a  copy  of  Bilderdyk's  History  of  the 
Fatherland,  in  12  vols.  8vo.,  published  in  1832-'3Y, 
under  the  direction  of  Professor  Tyderman,  of  the 
University  of  Leyden,  to  whom  the  manuscript  was 
sold  by  its  author  in  1828.  A  facsimile  of  this  bill 
of  sale  is  inserted  in  the  first  volume  of  the  work. 
Bilderdyk  was  a  prolific  writer,  and  his  numerous 
works,  both  in  prose  and  poetry,  are  held  in  high 
esteem  by  his  countrymen,  who  regard  him  as  their 
brightest  literary  ornament  in  modern  times. 


ME.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  199 

In  this  department  are  Kerroux's  History,  in  4 
vols. ;  Cerisier's  History,  in  10  vols.;  and  Van  Prin- 
sterer's  valuable  modern  historical  works,  consisting 
of  a  Handbook  of  the  History  of  the  Fatherland, 
published  in  5  vols.  8vo.,  in  1841,  and  the  Archives, 
or  Inedited  Correspondence  of  the  House  of  Orange- 
Nassau,  in  11  vols.  8vo. 

Of  those  authors  who  have  confined  their  labors 
to  particular  periods  in  the  history  of  Holland,  the 
most  distinguished,  as  well  as  the  best  known,  is 
Hugo  Grotius  or  De  Groot.  The  history  of  this 
great  writer  is  one  of  much  interest.  After  a  series 
of  uninterrupted  successes  in  law  and  diplomacy  as 
well  as  in  letters,  he  became  involved,  in  the  discharge 
of  his  legal  duties,  in  the  celebrated  Arminian  con 
troversy  which  agitated  Holland,  and  was  finally 
imprisoned  for  life,  purely  on  account  of  his  religious 
opinions,  in  the  Castle  of  Louvestein,  from  which 
he  made  his  escape,  with  the  assistance  of  his  wife 
and  her  maid-servant  Elsie,  in  a  chest  which  had 
been  used  from  time  to  time  to  transport  books  to 
and  from  the  prison  for  his  use.  So  very  near  was 
he  to  discovery  in  the  escape,  that  a  soldier,  who 
assisted  in  placing  the  box  in  a  boat  intended  for 
its  conveyance,  declared  that  it  must  contain  an  Ar 
minian,  and  insisted  upon  examining  its  contents. 
The  wife  of  Grotius  quieted  his  fears  by  assuring  him 


200  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

that  if  it  did  not  contain  an  Arminian — it  was  quite 
full  of  Arminian  books.  Grotius  appears  to  have 
been  an  excellent  diplomatist,  and  always  stood  on 
good  terms  with  the  sovereign  to  whose  court  he 
was  accredited.  His  first  effort  in  this  capacity  was 
as  an  attache  to  the  embassy  of  Count  Justin  of  Nas 
sau,  to  Henry  IV.  of  France,  in  1598.  When  he 
was  presented  to  the  king,  Henry  bestowed  upon 
him  his  own  picture  and  a  gold  chain,  which  so 
exalted  the  vanity  of  Grotius  that  he  had  an  engrav 
ing  of  himself  executed  with  the  golden  chain  sus 
pended  around  his  neck.  There  is  an  excellent 
painting  of  Grotius  in  the  library,  made  from  the 
celebrated  one  at  Amsterdam,  in  which,  however, 
the  chain  does  not  present  itself.  The  works  in  the 
collection  from  the  pen  of  this  author  are  Poemata, 
De  Veritate  Religionis  Cliristianm,  Apologeticus 
eorum  qiii  Hollandice  /  EpistolcB  Ineditce,  eight  vol 
umes,  1806;  Epistolce  folio;  De  Studiis — De  Fato 
—Anthologia  Grceca  cum  Versione  Latina,  4  vols. 
quarto ;  De  Imperio  summarum  Potestatum  circa 
Sacra — De  Jure  Belli  et  Pads  (several  copies), 
Silvia,  a  Latin  poem,  quarto,  1634,  and  his  annals 
and  history  of  the  Netherlands,  from  the  death  of 
Philip  I.  to  the  truce  of  1609,  in  Latin,  with  a  trans 
lation  in  Dutch,  printed  in  folio  in  1681. 

In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  a  fine  mas- 


MR.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  201 

sive  copy,  in  black  letter,  of  the  History  of  Holland 
from  1516  to  1612,  by  Van  Meteren,  one  of  the 
primitive  lights  of  Dutch  literature,  which  contains 
an  early,  if  not  the  first  notice  of  the  discoveries  of 
Hendrick  Hudson  on  the  American  continent ;  like 
wise  Brandt's  History  of  the  Reformation,  in  four  vol 
umes,  quarto,  published  in  1677 ;  Aitzema's  History  of 
the  United  Provinces,  from  1621  to  1668,  with  a  con 
tinuation  by  Van  der  Bosch,  or  Sylvius,  as  Latinized, 
in  eleven  volumes,  large  folio.  This  author  was  a 
native  of  the  province  of  Friesland,  and  published  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  a  volume  of  Latin  poems  entitled 
Poemata  Juvenilia,  that  gave  him  much  reputation 
for  precocious  talent.  He  was  subsequently  appointed 
Minister  of  the  Hanseatic  Towns  to  Holland,  and 
took  up  his  residence  at  the  Hague,  where  he  con 
tinued  to  reside  in  his  diplomatic  capacity  for  forty 
years.  Aitzema  used  much  adroitness  with  the 
agents  of  foreign  powers  in  obtaining  original  docu 
ments,  to  be  used  in  the  preparation  of  his  great 
historical  work,  and  was  even  suspected  of  carrying 
on  intrigues  injurious  to  his  native  land.  In  this 
work,  under  the  years  1663-' 4  he  notices  the  en 
croachments  of  the  New  England  colonists  on  the 
"  Province  of  New  Netherlands,"  which,  he  says,  they 
wished  to  reduce  into  subjection  to  England,  a  sus 
picion  fully  verified  a  few  years  after  by  the  absolute 
26 


202  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

subjugation    of    this   commanding    and   nourishing 
colony.* 

Van  Wassenser's  Historical  Relations,  from  1621- 
29,  continued  by  Barnet  Lampe  to  1632,  in  5  vols. 
4to.,  is  a  species  of  annual  register,  and  possesses 
considerable  interest  to  the  New  York  historian, 
inasmuch  as  it  contains  accounts  of  the  infant  colony 
of  New  Netherlands.  It  is  well  known  to  historical 
students  in  Holland,  where  it  is  not  rare,  but  is  not 
common  in  this  country.  The  HollandiscJie  Mercu- 
rius,  of  which  there  are  twelve  volumes  in  the  col 
lection,  extending  from  1650-90,  is  of  the  same  gen 
eral  character  as  that  of  Wassenser's  Relations,  and 
likewise  contains  notices  of  events  that  transpired 
in  the  New  Netherlands.  A  curious  black  letter 
brochure  on  this  subject  is  the  Breeden  Itaedt,  pub 
lished  at  Antwerp  in  1649,  which,  under  the  simili 
tude  of  advice,  contains  a  coarse  attack  upon  the 
government  of  New  Netherlands.  But  a  few  copies 
of  this  work  are  supposed  to  be  in  existence,  and  its 
scarcity  has  enhanced  its  market  value  (for  it  pos 
sesses  little  to  recommend  it  in  a  literary  point  of 
view)  to  an  almost  fabulous  price,  many  times  its 
weight  in  gold  having  been  paid  in  exchange  for  it. 

*  A  translation  of  these  passages  was  made  by  Rev.  Dr.  De  Witt, 
and  inserted  in  the  collections  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society. 
New  Series,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  374-88. 


ME.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  203 

The  copy  in  the  present  collection  was  received  from 
the  Royal  Library  at  the  Hague — which  possessed 
duplicates — in  exchange  for  a  scarce  Description  of 
Holland. 

This  portion  of  the  collection  contains  the  Histoire 
de  DEglise,  published  at  Rotterdam  in  two  folio  vol 
umes,  in  1699,  and  the  Annales  des  Provinces-  Unies, 
in  two  volumes,  folio,  both  by  Basnage,  a  learned 
French  refugee,  who  resided  in  Holland  for  many 
years  after  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes ; 
likewise  the  Histoire  des  Provinces-  Unies  des  Pays 
Bas,  by  M.  de  Wicquefort,  in  two  volumes  folio, 
published  in  1719.  This  important  work  relates  to 
the  annals  of  the  United  Provinces  during  the  period 
that  succeeded  the  peace  of  Munster,  in  1644.  The 
editor  of  this  work,  who  undertook  his  task  after 
the  decease  of  its  author,  states  that  the  whole  of  it 
was  written  and  a  portion  printed  forty  years  prior 
to  the  date  of  its  publication,  but,  owing  to  the 
troubles  in  which  Wicquefort  became  involved,  the 
whole  was  abandoned  during  the  life  of  the  author. 
As  compared  with  the  valuable  work  by  Aitzema, 
already  noticed,  which  relates  to  a  considerable  por 
tion  of  the  same  period,  it  contains  nearly  double 
the  number  of  original  documents,  and  besides  pos 
sesses  the  advantage  of  being  written  in  the  French 
language,  which  is  so  much  more  generally  read  than 


204  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

the  Dutch,  in  which  Aitzema's  is  published.  Besides 
the  work  already  noticed,  Wicquefort  was  the  author 
of  several  others,  but  the  one  which  gave  him  great 
est  reputation  is  a  treatise  on  the  duties  of  diplo 
matic  agents,  entitled  U Ambassadeur  et  se-s  Fonc- 
tions,  which  passed  through  several  editions,  and 
was  translated  into  English  and  German.  He  is 
generally  thought  to  be  the  author  of  Advis  Fidele 
aux  Hollandais,  which  gives  a  picture  of  the  atroci 
ties  of  the  French  army  under  Louis  XIV.,  during 
the  invasion  of  Holland,  and  is  said  to  have  so  effect 
ually  aroused  the  Hollanders  from  their  lethargy,  as 
to  have  caused  them  to  expel  the  invaders  from 
their  territory.  This  book,  which  is  now  seldom 
to  be  met  with  in  Holland,  is  much  sought  after 
by  the  curious.  There  are  two  copies  in  the  collec 
tion. 

Among  the  geographical  works  in  the  collection 
is  the  Cosmograpliia  of  Claudius  Ptolemy,  in  large 
folio,  published  at  Ulm  in  1486.  This  work  con 
tains  twenty-seven  illuminated  maps,  laying  down 
every  part  of  the  then  knowTn  world,  but  in  which 
the  continent  of  America  does  not  appear,  as  it  was 
six  years  after  the  publication  of  this  edition  before 
Columbus  made  the  discovery  of  the  New  World. 
There  is  an  additional  copy  of  this  work  in  the  col 
lection,  published  at  Bale  in  1540,  and  a  translation 


MR.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  205 

into  Italian  by  Ruscelli,  published  at  Venice  in  1574, 
4to.  There  is  also  an  atlas  consisting  of  the  maps 
of  Ptolemy,  published  at  Amsterdam  in  1704,  to 
gether  with  several  other  treatises  on  cosmography, 
of  different  dates,  the  most  recent  being  that  of  the 
late  Vicomte  Santarem,  formerly  the  Portuguese 
minister  to  France,  who  died  at  Paris  in  1855,  at  an 
advanced  age. 

There  is  a  fine  copy  of  Strabonis  Geograpliia,  pub 
lished  at  Amsterdam,  in  folio,  in  1707,  in  the  Greek, 
with  a  Latin  translation,  the  annotations  of  Casau- 
bon,  Cluverius,  Salmasius,  Bochart,  Vossius  and 
others,  and  an  excellent  French  translation  of  Stra. 
bo,  by  De  la  Porte,  Coray  and  others,  published  at 
Paris  in  1805,  5  vols.  4to.  An  English  translation 
of  this  learned  geographer,  hitherto  a  desideratum, 
has  recently  been  commenced  in  Bonn's  classical 
series. 

Herodotus,  the  father  of  geography  as  well  as  of 
history,  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the  collection, 
both  in  the  original  and  its  different  translations, 
including  Larcher's,  in  7  vols.  8vo.,  which  is  one  of 
the  finest  monuments  of  French  erudition;  also 
Larcher's  notes  on  Herodotus,  translated  into  Eng 
lish  ;  Laurent's  English  translation  of  Herodotus, 
from  the  text  of  Dr.  Gaisford,  2  vols.  8vo.,  Oxford, 
1846,  and  the  Geography  of  Herodotus,  developed, 


206  LIBE ARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

explained,  and  illustrated  from  modern  researches 
and  discoveries  by  Wheeler,  with  plans  and  maps, 
London,  1854,  besides  a  portion  of  the  Geograpluia 
Greed  Minores,  the  Byzantine  historians,  and  choice 
editions  of  the  chief  Greek  and  Latin  classics. 

In  relation  to  the  discovery  of  America  the  col 
lection  contains  the  valuable  work  of  the  Danish 
Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries,  entitled  Antiqui- 
tates  Americance,  edited  by  Professor  Rafn,  of  Co 
penhagen,  the  able  advocate  of  his  countrymen's 
claims  to  the  discovery  of  America  ;  the  Voyages  of 
the  Zeni,  described  in  a  small  volume  published  at 
Venice  in  1558,  together  with  Cardinal  Zuria's  de 
fence  of  the  same,  upon  which  documents  mainly 
rests  the  Venetian  claim  to  the  discovery  of  the 
American  continent  in  the  thirteenth  century.  A 
remarkable  map  accompanied  the  relations  of  Zeni, 
on  which  Greenland  was  for  the  first  time  correctly 
delineated. 

The  work  of  Cardinal  Zuria,  entitled  II  Mappa- 
mondo  di  Fra  Mauro,  Camaldolese,  descritto  et  ill/us- 
trato,  published  at  Venice,  1806,  folio,  contains  an 
engraving,  on  a  much  reduced  scale,  of  the  celebrated 
map  of  the  world  produced  by  Mauro,  a  monk, 
which  is  still  considered  as  one  of  the  greatest  curi 
osities  to  be  seen  in  Venice. 

In  relation  to  the  voyages  of  Columbus,  is  a  fresh 


MR.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  207 

and  large-paper  copy  of  Navarrete's  Collection  de  los 
Viages  y  Descoubrimientos  que  liicieron  par  mar  los 
EspaUoles,  Madrid,  1825,  5  vols.  4to.,  recently  pro 
cured  at  Madrid ;  also,  a  portion  of  the  same  work, 
comprising  all  that  relates  to  Columbus,  translated 
into  French,  3  vols.  8vo.,  Paris,  1828,  with  notes  by 
distinguished  geographical  writers,  and  additions  by 
Navarrete  himself.  There  is  likewise  a  History  of 
the  Voyages  of  Columbus,  by  his  son  Fernando,  and 
a  translation  of  the  same  from  the  Spanish  manu 
script  into  Italian  ;  Bossi's  Vita  di  Criatoforo  Colum- 
loj  Milan,  1818;  Delia  Origine  e  della  P atria  di 
Cristoforo  Columbo  Libri  tre  di  Spotorno.  Bar- 
nabiti.  Genoa,  1819;  Isnardi's  Dissertazione  ove 
nacque  Cris.  Colombo,  1837  ;  Count  Roselly  de  Lor- 
gnes,  Cliristoplie  Colomb,  Histoire  de  sa  vie  et  de  ses 
Voyages,  Paris,  1856,  2  vols.  8vo.,  cfec. 

The  collection  also  contains  a  recent  and  splendid 
edition  of  Oviedo's  Historia  General  y  Natural  de 
las  Indias,  in  4  vols.  4to.,  Madrid,  1851-5 ;  Gomara's 
Historia  General  de  las  Indias  and  Gonquista  de 
Mexico,  Saragossa,  1553-4 ;  a  small  folio  and  a  sec 
ond  copy  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  printed  at  Ant 
werp  in  1554;  and  Torquemada,  3  vols.  folio,  1723. 

To  these  should  be  added  a  complete  copy  of  the 
translations  of  manuscripts  by  Ternaux-Compans,  21 
vols.  8vo. ;  De  Laet's  New  World,  in  Dutch,  second 


208  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

edition,  1630,  folio,  and  the  same  in  Latin,  1633  ; 
also,  Ms  history  of  the  West  India  Company,  1644 ; 
Opus  Epistolorum  Petri  Martyris  Anglerii  Medio- 
lanensis,  Amsterdam,  1670,  folio;  a  fine  copy  of  the 
works  of  De  Laet,  printed  by  the  Elzevirs ;  Basa- 
nier's  History  of  Florida,  reprinted  at  Paris,  1853  ; 
Porchacci's  Isole  piu  famose  del  Mondo,  Venice,  1576, 
folio ;  Humboldt's  Examen  Critique  de  HHistoire,  et 
de  la  Geographie  duNouveau  Continent,  1836,  5  vols.; 
D'Avezac's  Decouvertes  faites  au  moyen  age  dans 
I  ocean  Atlantique,  Paris,  1836 ;  Bandini's  Vita  e 
Letter e  di  Amerigo  Vespucci,  Firenze,  1745,  small 
quarto;  liecherches  sur  Americ  Vespuce  et  ses 
Voyages,  by  Vicomte  de  Santarem,  and  the  same 
translated  into  English  by  E.  V.  Child,  and  published 
in  Boston,  1850 ;  Documentor  Ineditos,  Madrid,  1842 
(several  volumes,  but  incomplete)  ;  Clavigero's  His 
tory  of  Mexico,  translated  from  the  Italian  by  Cullen, 
1786,  2  vols.  quarto;  Pedro  Simon's  Noticias  Histo- 
riales  de  las  Conquistas  de  Tier  r  a  Fir  ma,  1627, 
folio;  Villagutierre's  Historia  de  la  Conquista  de 
Itza,  1701,  folio ;  Grarcilasso  de  la  Vega's  Historia 
General  del  Peru,  1722,  folio ;  Cartas  de  Hernando 
Cortez,  edited  by  Lorenzano,  Mexico,  1770,  folio,  and 
the  same  work  edited  by  Sands,  published  at  New 
York,  1842,  8vo.  Of  this  work  Mr.  Folsom  has 
made  and  published  the  only  English  translation. 


MR.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  209 

The  following  collections  of  voyages  and  travels 
are  in  the  library ;  Grynaeus's  Nbvus  Orbis,  printed 
in  Basle,  1555,  folio — Ramusio,  3  vols.  folio — vol.  L, 
Venice,  1587  ;  vol.  II.,  1583  ;  vol.  Ill,  1556.  These 
editions  of  the  first  two  volumes  are  considered  the 
best.  Hakluyt's  Collection  of  Voyages,  1598-1600, 
3  vols.  folio  ;  supplementary  volume,  4to.,  1812  ;  Pur- 
chas's  Pilgrimes,  5  vols.  folio,  1625;  De  Bry's  Gol- 
lectiones  Peregrinationum,  in  Indiam  Occidentalem, 
10  parts  with  additions,  in  2  vols.  folio  ;  published 
at  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  1590-6.  The  pictorial 
illustrations  of  this  work,  and  its  great  rarity,  give 
an  enormous  value  to  it,  so  far  as  completed,  as  well 
as  to  different  portions  in  a  separate  state.  The  first 
nine  parts  are  more  common  than  some  others,  but 
not  the  less  interesting.  The  fifth  part  contains  a 
portrait  of  Columbus,  which  De  Bry  declares  to  be 
a  reduced  copy  from  one  ordered  to  be  taken  by  the 
King  and  Queen  of  Castile  prior  to  the  departure  of 
Columbus  on  his  first  voyage.  This  has  been  en 
graved  for  Bossi's  Life  of  Columbus. 

There  are  likewise  Lettres  Edifiantes  et  Curieuses, 
26  vols.  8vo.,  Paris,  1780,  which  is  the  best  arranged 
edition  of  the  letters  of  the  Catholic  Missionaries ; 
Annales  des  Voyages  de  la  Geographie  et  de  HHis- 
toire,  by  Malte  Brun,  Paris,  1808-9,  25  vols.  8vo.  ; 
Nouvelles  Anncdes  des  Voyages,  by  Malte  Brun,  and 


210  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

after  his  death  continued  by  Klaproth,  Arago,  Hum- 
boldt  and  others,  1819-1842,  93  vols.  8vo. ;  a  gen 
eral  History  and  Collection  of  Voyages,  by  Robert 
Kerr,  18  vols.  8vo.,  and  the  Publications  of  the 
Hakluyt  Society,  1847-55,  20  volumes. 

A  peculiar  feature  in  this  collection  is  its  Elzevir 
editions,  which  are  probably  more  numerous  than  in 
any  other  in  this  country.  There  are  about  four 
hundred  volumes  in  this  department,  the  most  of 
which  were  obtained  by  purchase  from  the  estate 
of  Sir  William  Disbrowe,  a  late  British  Ambassador 
at  the  Hague.  This  series  contains  the  histories  of 
no  less  than  seventy-two  republics,  most  of  which 
have  long  since  ceased  to  exist,  and  the  whole  is 
remarkable  for  its  exactness  and  elegant  typog 
raphy. 

In  the  department  of  French  and  English  history 
and  biography,  as  well  as  in  all  that  relates  to  the 
history  of  the  United  States,  this  collection  is  well 
supplied  with  standard  books  both  of  a  local  and 
general  character. 

One  of  the  chief  sources  from  which  French  histo 
rians  in  particular  derive  materials,  and  to  which  all 
historians  are  more  or  less  indebted,  is  the  private 
memoirs  of  distinguished  persons,  of  which  there  are 
several  extensive  collections  in  the  library — as  that 
of  Perrin,  entitled  Collection  Universelle  de  Memoires 


MB.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  211 

Particuliers  Helatifo  a  1}  Histoire  de  France,  pub 
lished  1785-1806,  70  vols.  8vo.;  the  Collection  of 
Guizot,  from  the  foundation  of  the  French  monarchy 
to  the  thirteenth  century,  published  in  1823-27,  29 
vols.  8vo. ;  the  Nouvelle  Collection,  from  the  thirteenth 
century  to  the  termination  of  the  eighteenth,  by 
Michaud  and  Poujoulat,  assisted  by  Bazin,  Cham- 
pollion  and  others,  34  vols.  large  8vo. — new  edi 
tion,  1854  ;  and  Memoir es  de  St.  Simon,  4  vols.  4to., 
illustrated. 

The  library  likewise  contains  Buchon's  collection 
of  French  Chronicles,  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  six 
teenth  centuries,  in  47  vols.  8vo. ;  Memoir  es  Contem- 
porarains,  27  vols.;  Biograpliie  Universelle,  Paris, 
52  vols  ;  Biograpliie  Universelle,  Bruxelles,  1842-47, 
21  vols.;  Galerie  Historique  des  Contemporarains, 
with  supplement,  10  vols. ;  Encyclopedia  de  Gens  du 
Monde,  Paris,  1833-44,  22  vols. ;  Vaderlandsche 
Woordenboeck,  by  Kok,  with  supplement,  in  38  vols., 
Amsterdam,  1785-99  ;  Bayle's  Dictionnaire  Histo 
rique,  4  vols.,  folio ;  Remarques  Critiques  sur  le 
Dictionnaire  de  Bayle  ;  Chaufepie's  Continuation  of 
the  Dictionary  of  Bayle;  Le  Grand  Dictionnaire 
Historique,  by  Moreri ;  and  Segur's  Histoire  Univer- 
selle,  in  15  vols.  There  are  in  the  collection  excellent 
copies  of  Tillemont's  Histoire  Ecclesiastique,  Paris, 
1701,  16  vols.  quarto;  and  Histoire  des  Empereurs, 


212  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Paris,  1700,  6  vols.  quarto.  These  works,  the  first 
of  which  treats  of  the  church  during  the  first  six 
centuries  of  Christianity,  and  the  second  of  the  civil 
government,  are  both  rare  and  valuable.  They  are 
even  now  considered  as  standard  authorities  on  the 
subjects  of  which  they  treat. 

Among  French  historians  are  the  works  of  Sis- 
mondi — Histoire  des  Frangais,  31  vols.  8vo. ;  His- 
toire  des  Hepubliques  Italiennes,  8  vols.  8vo. ;  Precis 
de  V  Histoire  de  France,  3  vols.  8vo. ;  Histoire  So- 
maine,  2  vols. ;  Histoire  de  France,  by  Martin,  in  12 
vols.  8vo. ;  works  of  Augustin  Thierry,  in  5  vols. ; 
Amedee  Thierry's  Histoire  de  la  Gaule  sous  les  Ro- 
mains,  3  vols. ;  Histoire  des  Gaulois,  3  vols. ;  Histoire 
d'Attila,  2  vols. ;  Fauriel's  Histoire  de  la  Gaule  Me- 
ridionale,  4  vols.  8vo. ;  Gaillard's  Histoire  de  Cliar- 
lemagne,  2  vols. ;  Histoire  de  Francois  Z,  4  vols. ;  Me- 
zeray's  Clironiques  Abregees  de  D Histoire  de  France, 
6  vols.  12mo. ;  Memoires  Historiqiies,  2  vols. ;  La- 
vallee's  Histoire  des  Frangais,  4  vols. ;  Rapin's  His- 
toire  d1  Angleterre,  published  in  1727,  10  vols.  4to., 
being  the  second  edition,  which  comes  down  to  the 
termination  of  the  revolution — the  period  from  the 
death  of  Charles  I.  to  the  end  of  the  revolution  being 
from  the  manuscript  left  by  Kapin  at  his  decease; 
Voltaire's  works  in  75  vols.  8vo. ;  Pieces  Attributes, 
&c.,  and  a  very  curious  affair  in  verse,  entitled  Fpi- 


ME.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  213 

tre  de  Belzebuih  a  VAuteur  de  la  Pucelle,  published  at 
Geneva  in  1760,  which  begins  with  the  following 
apostrophe  to  Voltaire : 

"  0 !  mon  cher  fils,  0  !  moitie  de  moi-meme, 
Que  jo  choisis  pour  remplir  mes  dessins," 

How  the  author  of  Pucelle  was  pleased  at  this 
special  designation  as  the  chief  envoy  of  the  Prince 
of  Darkness  does  not  appear,  but  that  the  compli 
ment  was  well  merited  there  is  little  room  to  doubt, 
for  no  intellect  of  equal  brilliancy  dazzled  half  so 
brightly  to  destroy  as  that  of  the  great  and  gifted, 
but  dangerous  leader  of  the  French  infidel  school. 

Another  curious  work,  although  of  a  different  char 
acter  from  the  one  just  alluded  to,  is  the  Advis 
Fidele,  from  the  pen  of  Wicquefort,  whose  works  have 
already  been  noticed.  The  story  of  Wicquefort  is  one 
of  considerable  interest.  The  son  of  an  Amsterdam 
merchant,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  France,  and  at 
an  early  age  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  diplomacy 
with  such  success  as  soon  to  attract  public  attention. 
About  1626,  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  whose  suc 
cessors  have  since  been  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Kings 
of  Prussia,  appointed  him  as  his  minister  resident  at 
Paris,  which  post  he  occupied  with  much  satisfaction 
to  his  employer  for  thirty-two  years.  But  he  at 
length  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  French  govern- 


214  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

ment  by  the  revelation  of  some  of  his  dispatches, 
in  which  he  portrayed,  in  a  lively  manner,  the  fea 
tures  of  society  at  the  French  court,  and  particularly 
the  relations  which  he  imagined  to  exist  between 
Louis  XIV.  and  the  nieces  of  Cardinal  Mazarin,  then 
at  the  head  of  affairs  in  France.  He  was  ordered  to 
qui  tFrance  peremptorily,  but  having  postponed  his 
departure  for  a  few  days,  was  arrested  and  thrown 
into  the  Bastile,  from  whence  he  was  shortly  taken, 
and  under  a  military  escort  conducted  to  Calais. 
Upon  his  arrival  in  Holland  he  was  taken  under  the 
protection  of  De  Witt,  the  actual  head  of  the  gov 
ernment,  and  made  Historiographer  to  the  United 
Provinces,  and  translator  of  dispatches  in  the  office 
of  Foreign  Affairs.  He  was  at  the  same  time  selected 
by  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  and  Zell  as  his  represen 
tative  at  the  Hague. 

The  downfall  of  De  Witt  in  16T2,  was  the  pre 
lude  to  the  persecution  of  his  friends,  among  the 
most  obnoxious  of  whom  was  Wicquefort,  who  was 
loud  in  his  disapprobation  of  the  means  by  which 
his  former  patron  had  been  sacrificed  to  the  interests 
of  the  house  of  Orange.  He  was  charged  with  fur 
nishing  secret  information  to  the  enemies  of  the 
state,  which  his  post,  as  translator,  might  have  en 
abled  him  to  do,  and  upon  this  accusation  was  im 
prisoned  at  the  Hague,  whence,  after  an  incarcera- 


MR.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  215 

tion  of  some  years,  lie  was  enabled  to  escape  in 
pretty  much  the  same  manner  as  Grotius,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  a  maid-servant  in  the  family 
of  the  jailer.  The  circumstances  of  his  escape  are 
thus  narrated  in  Hollandsclie  Mercurius  of  the  fol 
lowing  year,  1680.  In  the  absence  of  the  jailer, 
and  while  her  mistress  was  ill  in  bed,  the  maid  man 
aged  to  get  possession  of  the  keys  of  the  prison,  and 
restored  Wicquefort  to  liberty.  He  escaped  from 
town  disguised  in  a  wig  and  cloak,  and  was  met  by 
his  own  servant,  who  was  in  the  secret,  on  the  out 
skirts,  with  a  conveyance  in  which  he  went  to  Ley- 
den.  In  the  mean  time,  the  jailer  returned,  and 
retired  to  rest  without  suspicion,  the  servant  remain 
ing  quietly  in  prison  until  the  following  morning, 
when  she  left  at  an  early  hour  under  the  pretence 
of  attending  mass.  The  suspicion  was  still  further 
avoided  by  the  early  arrival  of  Wicquefort's  daugh 
ter,  who  remained  outside  of  her  father's  apartment 
for  some  hours,  as  if  waiting  his  rising.  When  the 
discovery  was  at  last  made,  the  refugee  was  far 
beyond  pursuit.  The  name  of  the  maid-servant 
through  whom  the  historian  was  set  at  liberty  has 
not,  like  the  one  who  aided  Grotius,  been  preserved. 
He  was  far  advanced  in  life  at  the  date  of  these 
events,  and  survived  them  but  a  few  years. 

In  addition  to  the  usual  standard  works  of  Eng- 


216  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK, 

lish  history,  as  Bacon,  Camden,  Clarendon,  Burnet, 
Rapin,  Lingard,  Palgrave  and  Hallam,  are  many 
writers  whose  pages  are  illustrative  of  particular 
periods,  and  are  quite  essential  to  a  comprehensive 
view  of  the  subject.  Of  this  class  are  the  publica 
tions  of  the  Camden  Society,  which  have  reached 
fifty  volumes,  and  will  amply  repay  the  reader  who 
seeks  them  either  for  amusement  or  instruction ;  and 
the  works  of  Leland,  the  English  antiquary,  most 
of  which  were  published  long  after  his  death,  from 
his  manuscripts  deposited  in  the  Bodleian  library, 
at  Oxford.  These  are  of  great  rarity  and  value, 
and  contain  the  Collectanea  de  Rebus  Britannicis,  6 
vols.  8vo. ;  Commentarii  de  Scriptoribus  Brit.  /  and 
Itinerary,  9  vols.  8vo. 

Bishop  Bale,  a  contemporary  of  Leland,  had  ac 
cess  to  his  manuscripts,  and  probably  compiled,  with 
their  assistance,  his  Centuries  of  British  Authors. 
Bale  flourished  in  the  time  of  the  Tudors,  and  was 
twice  driven  abroad  by  religious  persecutions.  He 
was  originally  a  Carmelite  monk  of  Norwich,  and  in 
changing  his  religion  became  a  zealous  Protestant. 
It  is  intimated,  with  much  show  of  probability, 
that  the  inducement  for  this  change  was  to  enable 
him  to  marry  "his  faithful  Dorothea,"  which  he  cer 
tainly  did  soon  after  his  conversion. 

There  are  copies  of  two  editions  of  Bale's  British 


MR.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  217 

Authors  in  this  collection.  The  first  is  quite  rare, 
and  contains  only  five  Centuries,  or  books,  whereas 
the  other  contains  fourteen.  Bishop  Bale  was  one 
of  the  earliest  English  dramatic  writers.  Several  of 
his  plays  are  extant,  and  one,  hitherto  unknown,  has 
been  recently  brought  to  light  and  printed  from  the 
manuscript  in  the  Caniden  Society's  publications, 
entitled  "  Kynge  Johan,  a  play  in  two  parts,  by  John 
Bale,  edited  by  J.  Payne  Collier,  Esq.,  F.  S.  A." 

Among  the  works  of  Natural  History  is  a  variety 
of  the  Floras  of  America,  England,  France,  Holland, 
Germany,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  Greece  and  Italy,  in 
cluding  those  of  Smith,  Baxter,  Decandolle,  Wilde- 
now,  Wahlenberg,  Tenore,  Pursh,  and  Nuttall.  In 
this  department  are  Buffon's  works,  26  vols. ;  Cuvier 
and  Lacepede,  in  12  vols. ;  Dictionnaire  dassique 
(PHistoire  Naturelle,  Paris,  1822,  17  vols.  8vo. ;  Tem- 
minck's  Manual  d^Oiseauxj  Anslyn's  Birds  and 
Fishes,  Leyden,  3  vols. ;  Macgillivray's  British  Birds,  3 
vols.  8vo. ;  Theophrastus  de  Historia  et  Causis  Plan- 
tarum,  edited  by  Schneider  and  published  at  Leipzig, 
1821;  Jae.  Cornuti  Canadensiiim  Plantarum  His- 
toria,  Paris,  1635, 4to.,  which  appears  to  be  the  earliest 
botanical  work  descriptive  of  the  plants  of  North 
America — together  with  a  variety  of  books  on  dif 
ferent  branches  of  Natural  History. 

There  is  a  choice  collection  of  the  Italian  poets, 

28 


218  LLBKAKIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

published  at  Venice  in  56  vols.  12 mo. ;  Metastasio, 
in  10  vols. ;  and  the  works  of  Petrarch  and  the  other 
leading  Italian  poets,  in  separate  editions.  Besides 
the  Italian  editions  of  Petrarch's  poems,  are  two 
copies  of  his  collected  works  in  Latin,  one  of  which 
is  the  Prwceps,  and  was  published  at  Basle  in  folio, 
in  1496  ;  the  other  was  published  at  Venice  in  1503. 
There  is  a  curious  work  entitled  Li  dve  Petrarchwti 
Dialoglii  sopra  il  Petrarca,  published  at  Venice,  1623, 
which  contains  many  particulars  respecting  Petrarch, 
and  some  of  his  letters. 

There  is  a  copy  of  Platina's  Lives  of  the  Popes,  in 
Latin,  published  at  Cologne,  1626,  and  an  Italian 
translation  of  the  same  work  published  at  Venice, 
1744;  also  Giuseppe  de  Novaes  Elementi  della  Sto- 
ria  de  Sommi  Pontefici  da  S^Pietro  sino  al  Pio  VII., 
Siena,  1802,  16  vols.  8vo. ;  Vita  e  Geste  di  Sisto 
Quinto,  Sommo  Pontefice,  dal  Casimiro  Tempesti, 
published  at  Rome,  1Y54,  2  vols.  quarto ;  the  life  of 
the  same  Pope,  by  Gregorio  Leti,  in  Italian,  French, 
Dutch  and  English,  in  4  vols. ;  Descrittione  di  Tutti 
i  Paesi  Bassi,  di  Lodovico  Guicciardini,  An  versa, 
1580,  folio;  Canina's  Antique  Edifices  of  Rome,  in 
4  vols.  large  folio;  II  Vaticano,  in  8  vols.  folio; 
Real  Museo  Borbonico,  12  vols.,  large  8vo. ;  Nibby's 
Homa  ed  Intorno  di  Roma,  6  vols.  8vo  ;  Mbby's 
Foro  Romano;  Tiraboschi's  Historic  della  Lettera- 


MR.  FOLSOM'S  COLLECTION.  219 

tura  Italiana,  15  vols.  8vo. ;  and  P atria  e  Biografia 
di  C.  Colombo,  published  in  Rome,  1854.  Likewise  a 
collection  of  Dutch  books  relating  to  Japan,  together 
with  Chaiievoix  and  others  on  the  same  subject. 

Little  attention  has  been  paid  in  this  notice  to  the 
numerous  American  and  English  publications  in  the 
collection,  the  chief  object  having  been  to  direct  the 
reader  to  those  which  are  more  rare,  and  less  easy 
of  access.  In  the  department  of  American  history, 
however,  the  library  is  particularly  rich,  embracing 
many  rare  and  valuable  works.  In  this  class  are 
found  all  the  more  recent  documentary  collections  of 
an  historical  character,  published  under  the  auspices 
of  the  general  and  state  governments,  at  the  head  of 
which  is  the  "  American  Archives,"  edited  by  Peter 
Force,  of  Washington ;  and  the  collections  of  various 
historical  and  antiquarian  societies,  together  with 
local  (town  and  state)  histories  of  different  parts  of 
the  United  States.  English  colonial  annals  are  well 
represented  in  numerous  approved  works,  and  Mex 
ico  and  other  Spanish  and  Portuguese  provinces  form 
a  considerable  portion  of  this  department  of  the 
library.  Southey's  History  of  Brazil,  3  vols.  4to., 
and  the  more  recent  work  of  Netcher  on  the  state 
of  the  same  country  under  the  Dutch  (written  in 
French),  may  be  mentioned  in  this  connection. 

It  may  be  added,  in  concluding  this  notice,  that 


220  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Mr.  Folsom  is  engaged  in  constructing  a  library-room 
in  a  house  now  in  the  process  of  erection,  which  will 
he  likely  to  exhibit  to  great  advantage  his  biblical 
treasures. 


REV.  DR.  FORBES'S  LIBRARY. 


THE  remark  seems  just  when  applied  to  books  as 
to  men,  "  Show  me  your  companions,  and  I  will  tell 
you  what  you  are,"  and  it  is  peculiarly  so,  when,  as 
in  the  present  case,  each  volume  has  been  selected  by 
its  owner,  for  his  own  especial  use  and  study.  This 
is  principally  a  Theological  library,  valuable  for  its 
choice  selection  of  the  best  books  on  almost  every 
subject  connected  with  the  great  science.  In  works 
in  the  original  languages  of  the  Christian  fathers,  it 
is  well  supplied,  comprising,  in  the  Benedictine 
edition,  the  complete  works  of  St.  Augustine,  St. 
Chrysostom,  St.  Basil,  and  St.  Bernard,  and  side  by 
side  with  these,  though  in  less  perfect  forms,  those 
of  St.  Clement  of  Rome,  St.  Polycarp,  St.  Justin 
Martyr,  St.  Ignatius,  St.  Cyril,  St.  Cyprian,  St  Atha- 
nasius,  Origen,  and  Tertullian.  But  a  book  of  rarer 
value  than  these,  is  a  beautiful  edition,  from  the 
Vatican  press,  of  the  works  of  St.  Ephrem  the 

bynail  ;     Tov  ev   ayion;  Ilarpof  rjfiojv   E0pai/i  rov   Svpov  ra 

a  -rravra.     Comprised  in  6  vols.  folio,  bound 


222  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

in  vellum,  with  rubricated  title-pages  and  occasional 
engravings,  they  form  a  splendid  set  of  books.  As 
but  little  may  be  known  by  the  general  reader  of 
this  writer,  the  following  account  of  him,  and  of 
the  edition  of  his  works  to  be  found  in  this  library, 
is  copied  from  Rose's  Biographical  Dictionary. 

Having  been  present  at  the  Council  of  Nice,  A. 
D.  325,  he  afterward,  it  is  said,  embraced  the  monas 
tic  life,  and  retiring  to  a  convent  in  one  of  the  moun 
tains  near  Edessa,  there  composed  most  of  his  works. 
"He  wrote  a  commentary  on  nearly  all  the  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  which  is  extant,  and  one  on  the 
New  Testament,  which  has  been  lost.  He  wrote  in 
Greek  and  Syriac.  A  complete  edition  of  his  works, 
with  prolegomena,  notes,  and  prefaces,  was  published 
at  Rome,  in  1736  and  following  years,  in  six  vol 
umes  ;  the  first  under  the  editorship  of  Joseph  Asse- 
mani  and  the  five  others  under  that  of  a  Jesuit, 
named  Father  Benedict."  This  work  cannot  be 
passed  without  allusion  to  the  fact  that  in  the 
Necrosima  sur  Funebres  Canones  of  St.  Ephrem, 
the  scholar  will  often  find  all  the  elegance  of  Anac- 
reon  with  the  chastest  Christian  tone  and  sentiment. 
Coming  down  from  the  writings  of  the  early  ages, 
the  collection  contains  a  curious  work  of  the  ninth 
century,  entitled  Epistolce  Decretales  Summorum 
Pontificum.  The  edition  is  in  3  vols.  folio,  printed 


REV.    DB.    FOKBES'S    COLLECTION.  223 

at  Rome,  in  ^Edibus  Populi  Romani,  1591.  These 
are  the  forged  Decretals,  now  generally  acknowl 
edged  to  be  frauds,  but  once  of  great  reputation. 
Chillingworth,  Tillotson,  and  Mosheim  lay  great 
stress  upon  the  influence  they  once  exerted.  Burns 
also,  in  his  preface  to  his  work  on  Ecclesiastical  Law, 
refers  to  them.  They  were  said  to  have  been  written 
by  the  Pontiffs  of  primitive  times,  in  order  that  it 
might  appear  that  the  early  bishops  of  Rome  enjoyed 
those  privileges  which  were  afterward  accorded  to 
their  successors.  They  were,  however,  actually  the 
production  of  some  later  writer,  who,  in  order  to 
obtain  respect  for  his  invention,  published  them  un 
der  the  name  and  authority  of  Isidore,  bishop  of 
Seville  in  the  seventh  century.  They  have  been 
refuted  by  Cardinal  de  Cusa,  Baronius,  Bellarmine, 
and  Bina,  and  also  by  the  pious  and  learned  Fleury, 
in  his  Discourse  sur  HHistoire  Ecdesiastique.  They 
were  originally  published  by  James  Merlin  at  Paris 
in  1524.  Ceillier  has  given  an  extended  analysis  of 
them  in  the  8th  volume  of  THistoire  Generate  des 
Auteurs  Ecdesiastiques. 

Of  writers  of  the  middle  ages,  this  library  con 
tains  the  Summa  Totius  Theologice  of  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas,  in  one  huge  folio,  printed  at  Lyons  in  1608, 
as  well  as  the  Gursus  Theologice,  juxta  mentem  Divi 
j  opera  et  Studio  F.  Caroli  Renati  Billuart,  in 


224  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

10  vols.  8vo.,  Lyons,  1847 ;  and  beside  these  stand 
the  ponderous  tomes  H.  P.  J.  Poncii  Commentarii 
in  libros  Sententiarum  ad  Mentem  Scott,  4  vols.  folio, 
Paris,  1661.  Though  the  philosophy  of  these  men 
has  been  characterized  as  an  unreal  system,  "  a  col 
lection  of  principles,  the  data  not  of  investigation 
and  experience,  but  of  a  prescriptive  authority,"  yet, 
as  the  master  minds  of  a  most  important  period  of 
the  world's  history,  they  will  always  be  held  in 
-respect.  Of  John  Duns  Scotus,  Hooker  has  pro 
nounced  the  eulogium  in  styling  him  "  the  wittiest 
of  the  school  divines,"  whilst  of  Thomas  Aquinas 
any  age  might  justly  be  proud.  The  Encyclopedia 
Metropolitana,  a  witness  not  likely  to  be  prejudiced 
in  favor  of  the  schoolmen,  says  of  him,  "  If  we  are  to 
judge  of  the  philosopher  from  the  intrinsic  powers  of 
mind  displayed,  independently  of  the  results  to  be 
attained  by  him,  which  chiefly  depend  on  the  con 
course  of  favorable  circumstances,  then  may  Aquinas 
be  placed  in  the  first  rank  of  philosophy.  If  pene 
tration  of  thought,  comprehensiveness  of  views,  ex 
actness  the  most  minute,  an  ardor  of  inquiry  the  most 
keen,  a  patience  of  pursuit  the  most  unwearied,  are 
among  the  merits  of  the  philosopher,  then  may  Aqui 
nas  dispute  even  the  first  place  among  the  candidates 
for  the  supremacy  in  speculative  science." 

As   to  Theological  writers  of  a  later  date,  with 


KEV.    DR.    FORBES'S    COLLECTION.  225 

the  Theologice  Cursus  Completus,  in  28  vols.  large 
8vo.,  containing  the  best  treatises  on  every  point  of 
Dogmatic  and  Moral  Theology — with  a  very  beau 
tiful  edition  of  the  complete  works  of  Benedict  XIV. 
(Lambertini),  in  14  vols.  folio,  and  with  works  of  Bel- 
larmine,  Muzzarelli,  Bouvier,  Palma,  Perrone,  and 
Passaglia,  this  library  has  a  very  fair  collection. 
On  Moral  Theology,  however,  besides  some  of  the 
writers  just  named,  there  are  the  Sacrce  Theologice 
Moralis  Medulla  Recens  ad  Mentem  Celeberrimorum 
Patrum  Salamanticensium,  and  the  various  works 
of  Busenbaun,  Ligorio,  Scavini,  Voit,  Neyraguet, 
Gaume,  Gury,  Tronson,  and  Kenrick,  in  all  thirty 
volumes. 

Of  French  divines  are  (Euvres  Completes  de  Eos- 
suet,  Eveque  de  Meaux,  63  vols. ;  (Euvres  Completes 
de  Massillon,  Eveque  de  Clermont,  14  vols. ;  Die- 
tionnaire  de  Theologie  par  EAbbe  Bergier,  4  vols. ; 
Explication  de  la  Messe  par  Pierre  Le  Brun,  4  vols. ; 
Examens  Partiouliers  sur  divers  subjects  par  M. 
Tronson;  Sermons  de  Bourdaloue.  Perpetuite  de 
la  foi  Catholique,  &c.,  4  vols.;  an  armory  whence 
many  modern  defenders  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
have  drawn  their  weapons. 

Nor  is  the  collection  of  the  best  divines  of  the 
English  church  less  complete.  For  the  most  part  in 

the  best  English  editions,  are  the  works  of  Cranmer, 
29 


226  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

of  Latimer,  of  Ridley,  and  of  Jewell;  of  Bp.  Hall, 
Bp.  Burnet,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Isaac  Barrow,  Bp.  San 
derson,  the  "  Judicious"  Hooker,  Dr.  South,  Stilling- 
fleet,  Chillingworth,  Bull,  Waterland,  Bp.  Home, 
Bp.  Newton,  Bp.  Horsely,  Bp.  Hurd,  Dr.  Paley, 
Archbishop  Magee,  Bp.  Butler,  Jones  of  Nayland ; 
Leland's  View  of  Deistical  Writers ;  the  Boyle  Lec 
tures,  "A  Defence  of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion ;" 
"  The  Scholar  armed  against  the  Error  of  his  Times ;" 
and  with  these  the  Institutes  of  John  Calvin, 
Dwight's  Theology,  Cecil's  Remains,  and  kindred 
works. 

As  aids  to  the  study  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures, 
besides  critical  editions  of  the  Hebrew  Bible,  the 
Septuagint,  the  Vulgate  and  the  Greek  Testament, 
with  various  lexicons  and  concordances,  are  Jahn's 
Archaeology  of  the  Bible,  Dixon's  and  Home's  Intro 
ductions,  and  the  Commentaries  of  Cornelius  a  Lapide, 
in  20  vols. ;  of  Maldonatus  and  Estius,  in  12  vols. ; 
and,  in  English,  of  Patrick,  Lowth,  Whitby,  Trench, 
Macknight  and  others. 

In  works  of  a  Ritualistic  character,  are  handsome 
copies  of  the  Roman  Missal  and  Pontifical  and  various 
editions  of  the  Breviary ;  a  fine  edition  of  Renaudot's 
Oriental  Liturgies,  printed  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main 
in  1847;  the  "Ancient  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of 
England,  according  to  the  uses  of  Sarum,  Barigor, 


' 


KEY.    DR.    FOKBESS    COLLECTION. 

York  and  Hereford,"  by  Maskell  ;  Rock's  Hierurgia  ; 
Brett's  Ancient  Liturgies  ;  and  in  the  way  of  Com 
mentaries  upon  these,  in  addition  to  Le  Brun's  work, 
already  mentioned,  the  valuable  work  of  Gavantus 
and  Merati  entitled,  "  Thesaurus  Sacrorum  Rituum" 
printed  at  Venice  in  1769,  2  vols.  folio;  Baldeschi's 
Ceremonial  of  the  Roman  Rite  ;  Cochin  on  the 
Mass  ;  Cardinal  Wiseman's  Holy  Week  ;  Oakley's 
Order  and  Ceremonial;  Palmer's  Origines  Litur- 
gicce,  and  Reeling's  Liturgice  Britannicce  ;  Whately 
and  Plummer  on  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

In  the  ancient  Classics,  Greek  and  Latin,  there 
are  to  be  found  only  the  more  noted  authors,  with 
however,  an  old  and  interesting  copy  of  Plato,  and 
beautiful  editions  of  Lucretius  and  Horace.  Accom 
panying  these  are  some  of  the  best  lexicons,  Faccio- 
lati  and  Forcellini,  4  vols.  folio;  Hedericus,  Wahl, 
Scott  and  Liddell,  Riddle  and  Arnold. 

On  History  is  the  great  work  of  Natalis  Alexan 
der,  Historia  Ecdesiastica*  Parisiis,  1730,  8  vols. 
folio;  Josephus,  Eusebius,  Socrates,  Sozomen,  The- 
odoret,  Evagrius;  Du  Pin's  Ecclesiastical  History 
6  vols.  folio,  comprising  the  writers  and  controver 
sies  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a  volume  not  always 
to  be  had  with  the  rest  of  the  work  ;  Fleury's  Ec 
clesiastical  History,  5  vols.  4to;  Bingham's  works; 
Mores  Gatliolici  ;  The  Universal  History,  45  vols. 


228  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

8vo ;  Polano's  History  of  the  Council  of  Trent ; 
Froissart's  Chronicles ;  Ranke's  Lives  of  the  Popes  ; 
Bede's  History;  Burnet,  Strype,  Collier,  Mosheim, 
Milner,  Lingard,  Southey,  Neal,  Burton,  Palmer, 
D'Aubigne,  Maitland,  Gibbon,  &c.,  &c. 

Of  Philosophical  works  the  library  contains  Aris 
totle  and  Plato ;  Rothenflue's  Institutiones  Tlieoret- 
icce ;  Bouvier's  Institutionum  Pliilosopliicarum  CUT- 
sus  ;  Locke's  Works  ;  Gisborne's  Principles  of  Moral 
Philosophy  ;  Wayland's  Elements  of  Moral  Science ; 
Paley's  Moral  Philosophy ;  Groves's  System  of  Moral 
Philosophy ;  Enfield's  Philosophy ;  Hampden  on  the 
Scholastic  Philosophy  of  the  Middle  Ages ;  Blake- 
ly's  History  of  the  Philosophy  of  Mind;  Henry's 
Epitome  of  the  History  of  Philosophy. 

In  general  literature  the  collection  is  larger  and 
more  valuable,  embracing  a  selection  of  the  best  poets 
and  prose  writers  in  the  language,  among  which 
may  be  named  Lord  Bacon's  complete  works,  Basil 
Montagu's  edition,  16  vols.  8vo. ;  all  the  British 
Essayists,  38  vols.;  the  Encyclopedias  Britannica 
and  Americana ;  Bayle's  Critical  Dictionary,  10  vols. 
folio ;  the  Biographia  Britannica,  7  vols.  folio ;  Rose's 
Biographical  Dictionary;  the  Quarterly  and  Edin 
burgh  Reviews  from  the  commencement ;  a  complete 
set  of  the  Dublin  Review,  46  vols.,  and  of  Brown- 
son's  Quarterly;  Watt's  Bibliotheca  Britannica,  one 


REV.    DR.    FORBES S    COLLECTION.  229 

of  the  most  useful  works  on  Bibliography  published. 
And  to  these  should  be  added  a  large  and  varied 
collection  of  Biographical  works ;  almost  every  thing 
relating  to  the  history  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte ;  the 
lives  of  Washington,  Cromwell,  Lord  Nelson,  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  of  Dr.  Johnson,  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  Ed.  Burke,  Sir  James  Macintosh,  Francis 
Horner,  Sydney  Smith,  Lord  Jeffrey,  Sir  H.  Cock- 
burn;  Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints,  twelve  volumes; 
twenty  volumes  of  Lives  by  the  fathers  of  the  Ora 
tory  ;  no  less  than  five  different  lives  of  Luther  (An- 
din's,  Michelet's,  Chalmers's,  Carlyle's,  and  Tolluc's) ; 
lives  of  Cranmer,  Latiiner,  Ridley,  and  Jewell ;  Isaac 
Walton's  lives ;  Bishop  Burnet's  lives  and  characters ; 
cfec.,  &c. 

Such  is  a  pretty  fair  outline  of  this  collection.  Its 
noticeable  features  are,  a  careful  selection  of  authors, 
and  the  due  proportion  of  its  several  parts.  There 
are  but  few  printed  sermons,  not  embraced  in  sets 
of  books.  Every  thing  written  by  Dr.  Newman, 
from  his  earliest  known  work  to  his  latest,  finds  its 
place,  including  the  volume  entitled  "  Catholics  in 
England,"  which  was  suppressed  in  England  shortly 
after  its  publication,  and  has  never  been  reprinted 
in  this  country.  There  is  also  an  old  copy  of  Eras 
mus's  Colloquies,  and  that  rarer  work  of  his,  the 
Praise  of  Folly,  with  illustrations  designed  by  Hans 


230  LIBEAKIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

Holbein.  The  clever  and  extended  notices,  in  late 
numbers  of  the  British  Reviews,  of  Erasmus  as  a 
scholar  and  a  satirist,  give  a  fresh  interest  to  these 
works  at  the  present  time.  At  the  side  of  these  is 
found  a  curious  book  called  "  Protestancy  Condemned 
by  the  Express  Verdict  and  Sentence  of  Protes 
tants,"  in  which  almost  every  thing  disreputable, 
that  was  ever  said  or  imagined  in  the  heat  of  contro 
versy,  by  some  of  the  principal  Reformers  against 
each  other,  is  paraded  at  large.  Luther,  Zuinglius, 
Calvin,  Beza,  Melancthon,  Bucer,  and  Knox,  all  come 
in  for  their  share  of  vituperation.  It  is  printed  at 
Dow  ay,  1654.  Another  wrork  of  unusual  character, 
is  "  The  History  of  the  Flagellants,  or  the  Advan 
tages  of  Discipline ;  being  a  Paraphrase  and  Com 
mentary  on  the  Historia  Flagellantium  of  the  Abbe 
Boileau,  Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  Canon  of  the  Holy 
Chapel,  &c. ;  by  Somebody  who  is  not  Doctor  of  the 
Sorbonne."  This  "  Somebody"  is  said  to  be  Monsieur 
De  Lolme,  the  celebrated  writer  on  the  English  Con 
stitution.  It  is  a  curious  and  learned  work. 


DR.  JOHN  W.  FRANCIS'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  library  contains  over  seven  thousand  vol 
umes,  and  is  rather  a  professional  and  scientific  than 
a  general  one,  although  it  embraces  a  large  number 
of  valuable  works  on  general  literature ;  and  its  col 
lection  in  belles-lettres,  the  classics,  history,  voyages 
and  travels,  and  biography,  is  by  no  means  an  infe 
rior  one.  The  foundation  of  the  library  was  laid 
during  Dr.  Francis's  travels  and  residence  in  Europe. 
One  of  its  most  important  features  is  its  wide  range 
of  journalism,  and  the  completeness  of  its  series  of 
the  transactions  of  learned  societies.  The  most  val 
uable  of  this  class,  is  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal 
Society,  from  their  commencement  in  1665  nearly 
down  to  the  present  time,  embracing  145  quarto 
volumes.  This  series  contains  the  Cronnian  Lec 
tures  on  Muscular  Motion,  read  before  the  Royal 
Society,  which  forms  a  supplement  to  the  transac 
tions,  and  is  rarely  to  be  met  with.  The  whole 
series,  as  found  in  the  collection,  is  so  scarce  as  prob 
ably  not  to  be  found  in  any  other  private  library, 


232  LIBKAKIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

and  in  but  few  public  ones,  in  the  city.  The  only 
complete  set  in  New  York,  known  to  the  writer, 
with  the  exception  of  the  one  under  consideration,  is 
in  the  possession  of  the  Astor  Library.  When  it  is 
remembered  that  Boyle,  Sir  H.  Davy,  Flamsteed, 
Franklin,  Priestley,  Leibnitz,  Halley,  Hales  and 
Newton,  among  philosophers,  and  Huxham,  Fother- 
gill,  Leuwenhoek  and  Cheselden,  among  medical 
men,  were  among  the  contributors  to  these  transac 
tions,  their  value  may  be  more  readily  estimated. 

There  is  also  in  the  collection  another  edition  of 
the  Philosophical  Transactions  from  1665  to  1800, 
abridged  and  condensed  into  eighteen  quarto  vol 
umes,  with  notes  and  biographical  illustrations  by 
Drs.  Hutton,  Pearson  and  Shaw.  This  edition  is 
more  frequently  met  with,  and  is  the  one  usually 
found  in  public  libraries.  The  library  likewise  con 
tains  a  complete  set  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Transactions,  the  early  numbers  of  which  are  now 
so  rare  as  seldom  to  be  obtained  at  any  price ;  the 
Dictionnaire  des  Sciences  Medicales,  conducted  under 
the  auspices  of  Boyle,  Cloquet,  Dubois,  Esquirol, 
Larrey,  Royer  Collar d,  Villemere,  and  others,  in  fifty- 
six  volumes ;  Tillock's  Philosophical  Magazine,  and 
Thompson's  Annals  of  Philosophy,  which,  until  they 
were  succeeded  in  1816  by  Brande's  Journal  of  Sci 
ence,  were  the  two  leading  English  philosophical 


DR.    FE ALOIS'S    COLLECTION.  233 

journals,  and  contained  the  contributions  of  the  most 
eminent  savans  of  Europe  and  America.  In  their 
pages  are  to  be  found  contributions  from  Mitchill  of 
New  York,  Hare  of  Philadelphia,  and  voluminous 
papers  from  Dr.  Priestley,  while  he  resided  in  this 
country ;  also  the  New  York  Medical  Repository, 
commenced  in  1797,  conducted  by  Drs.  Mitchill, 
Miller  and  Smith  (the  earliest  scientific  journal  in 
America)  in  23  volumes;  the  New  York  Medical 
and  Philosophical  Journal,  in  3  vols.,  edited  anony 
mously  ;  the  New  York  Medical  and  Physical  Jour 
nal  ;  the  American  Medical  and  Philosophical  Regis 
ter,  edited  by  Drs.  Hosack  and  Francis,  in  4  volumes ; 
the  New  York  Journal  of  Medicine,  and  the  American 
Journal  of  Medical  Science,  now  continued  for  a 
period  of  thirty  years,  which  together  embrace  a 
complete  history  of  American  epidemics  and  febrile 
diseases,  and  exhibit  the  condition  and  advance 
ment  of  science  from  that  early  period  to  the  present 
day. 

The  Medical  and  Philosophical  Register,  which  was 
ably  edited  by  Hosack  and  Francis,  contains  many 
of  the  original  papers  on  steam  navigation  by  Living 
ston  and  Fulton,  some  account  of  which  may  be  found 
in  the  excellent  and  pleasant  work  in  relation  to 
New  York,  by  Dr.  Francis,  entitled  "  Old  New  York," 
in  which  the  reader  is  .brought  into  more  intimate 


234  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

association  with  the  early  residents  of  the  city,  than 
in  any  other  publication  extant. 

~No  account  of  scientific  journalism  in  the  United 
States  would  be  complete  without  a  special  mention 
of  its  earliest  projector  and  constant  supporter,  Dr. 
Samuel  L.  Mitchill,  at  the  same  time  one  of  the 
most  learned  men  and  greatest  wits  of  the  time.  The 
world  is  indebted  to  him  for  the  first  geological  view 
of  the  state  of  New  York,  but  the  production  upon 
which  his  fame  chiefly  rests  is  his  elaborate  paper  on 
the  "  Fishes  of  New  York,"  published  in  the  trans 
actions  of  the  New  York  Philosophical  Society,  an 
institution  which  has  long  since  ceased  to  exist.  This 
paper  early  attracted  the  attention  of  Cuvier,  who 
always  spoke  of  him  in  the  highest  terms  of  com 
mendation. 

The  library  is  rich  in  Theological  narratives,  ser 
mons,  and  controversial  divinity.  It  has  also  a 
large  number  of  biographical  works,  as  Chalmers, 
in  32  volumes,  and  many  individual  biographies ;  an 
excellent  collection  of  works  on  the  Drama,  and 
is  well  stocked  with  works  on  Travels  and  Voyages, 
including  a  full  set  of  the  Arctic  voyages,  from 
Parry  to  Kane. 

The  list  of  Encyclopaedias  is  full,  and  embraces 
Rees's,  Brewster's  Edinburgh,  the  American,  Heck's 
Iconographic  Encyclopaedia,  the  Penny  Cyclopaedia, 


DR.  FRANCIS'S  COLLECTION.  235 

and  the  New  American  Cyclopaedia  of  Ripley  and 
Dana. 

In  Medicine  are  to  be  found  the  writings  of  the 
fathers,  as  Hippocrates,  Galen  and  Celsus,  in  their 
original  antique  folio  editions,  the  works  of  Ruysch, 
Swammerdam,  Tulpius,  De  Graeffe,  Albinus,  Pliny 
the  younger,  Scarpa,  Le  Clerc,  and  a  complete  series 
of  medical  classics,  from  Huxham  and  Pringle  to 
Watson  and  Wood. 

The  department  of  Medical  Jurisprudence  is  prob 
ably  more  complete,  and  embraces  works  of  greater 
rarity  than  any  other  collection,  either  public  or  pri 
vate,  in  America.  Prominent  among  these  is  the 
elaborate  folio  of  Zacchias,  entitled  Qucestiones  Med 
ico  Legates,  which  is  the  first  work  ever  published 
upon  forensic  medicine.  Its  author,  Paul  Zacchias, 
was  born  at  Eome  in  1584,  and  possessed  great  learn 
ing  and  varied  acomplishments.  He  had  received  a 
careful  and  elegant  education,  and  made  some  prog 
ress  in  philosophy  before  he  turned  his  attention  to 
the  study  of  medicine,  which  had  grown  into  a  call 
ing  of  high  repute  in  Italy,  and  numbered  among 
the  professors  in  its  schools,  as  well  as  its  practition 
ers,  many  of  the  most  distinguished  -savan-s  of  the 
age.  Zacchias  obtained  so  great  a  reputation  for  his 
acquirements,  as  to  receive  the  appellations  of  "  the 
First  of  Physicians,"  "  the  Mercury  of  Jurisconsu- 


236  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

lates,"  and  "  the  Italian  Hermes."  He  was  appointed 
physician  to  Pope  Innocent  X.,  and  devoted  his  lei 
sure  chiefly  to  the  preparation  of  the  great  work 
with  which  his  name  is  here  introduced.  This 
was  originally  published  in  nine  volumes,  at  various 
times  between  1621  and  1635,  and  was  subsequently 
printed  in  one  large  folio,  as  it  is  found  in  Dr.  Fran 
cis's  library.  Few  writers  have  discussed  legal  med 
icine  with  greater  ability,  and  his  opinions  are  quoted 
as  authority  by  the  writers  of  the  present  clay,  as 
they  have  been  by  those  of  each  succeeding  age 
since  he  wrote. 

There  are  also  numerous  German  writers  on  this 
subject,  as  Tolberg,  Teichmeyer,  and  Tiedemann ; 
those  of  the  French,  as  Fodere,  Mahon,  Broussais, 
and  Orfila ;  and  all  the  works  of  English  and  Amer 
ican  authors.  Also  a  complete  set  of  the  Recueil 
des  Causes  Celebres,  collected  by  Maurice  Mejan,  in 
eighteen  volumes — a  scarce  and  valuable  work,  and 
one  which  displays  a  tissue  of  depravity  and  unscru 
pulous  villainy  probably  not  to  be  found  in  any 
other  extant,  whatever  may  be  its  character.  This 
collection  was  frequently  consulted  by  Dr.  T.  Romeyn 
Beck,  while  engaged  in  preparing  his  valuable  treat 
ise  on  Medical  Jurisprudence. 

This  department  of  medicine,  although  distinctly 
defined  by  Zacchias,  was  not  made  the  subject  of  a 


DE.  FRANCIS'S  COLLECTION. 


distinct  professorship  in  Great  Britain,  until  the 
appointment  of  Dr.  Andrew  Duncan,  Junr.,  to  a 
chair  created  for  him  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
Columbia  College,  in  this  city,  following  the  example 
of  the  Edinburgh  school,  created  a  similar  chair,  and 
filled  it  by  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Stringham.  Upon 
his  decease,  in  1817,  Dr.  Francis  was  elected  as  pro 
fessor  to  fill  his  place,  and  continued  to  lecture  in 
this  capacity  for  thirteen  years.  It  is  doubtless  to 
this  circumstance  that  the  collection  is  indebted  for 
its  valuable  department  on  forensic  medicine. 

Dr.  Francis  has  enriched  the  science  with  many 
facts  in  medical  jurisprudence,  among  which  are  his 
observations  on  death  by  lightning,  by  coup  de  soleil, 
poisons,  viability,  &c.,  chiefly  detailed  in  the  notes 
to  Guy's  Medical  Jurisprudence. 

The  collection,  contains  also,  in  folio,  Van  Helmont  ; 
Boerhaave's  works,  including  his  description  of  the 
brain,  which  gained  him  his  greatest  celebrity  ;  Mor- 
gagni's  De  SediMs  et  Gausis  Morljorum,  published 
at  Patavii  in  1765  ;  the  original  editions  of  Cowper, 
the  anatomist,  Cheselden,  the  father  of  English  sur 
gery,  and  Albinus,  one  of  the  most  eminent  anato 
mists  of  modern  times.  Albinus,  who  filled  the 
chair  of  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  the  University  at 
Leyden,  wrote  a  number  of  anatomical  works,  among 
which  is  the  Academicarum  Annotationum,  which  is 


238  LIBE ARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

elaborately  prepared  and  accompanied  by  illustra 
tions  of  great  finish  and  beauty;  also,  Avicenna's 
collected  works,  published  at  Venice  in  1608.  Avi- 
cenna  was  an  Arabian  writer  and  physician,  who  was 
born  in  980,  and  acquired  such  a  reputation  as  to 
obtain  for  him  the  epithet  of  "  Prince  of  Arabian 
Philosophers  and  Physicians."  He  was  no  less  re 
markable  for  the  ability  he  afterward  displayed  than 
for  the  early  development  of  his  genius.  He  appeared 
'before  the  public  as  a  lecturer  on  various  medical 
subjects  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  and  was  the  first 
to  describe  the  use  of  the  forceps,  which  appear  sub 
sequently  to  have  fallen  into  disuse,  until  revived  as 
a  new  invention,  in  England,  some  centuries  later, 
by  the  Chamberlanes,  father  and  son.  They  at 
tempted  to  keep  their  discovery  a  secret,  and  gained 
some  obloquy  thereby.  By  a  curious  circumstance, 
the  original  instruments,  as  constructed  by  the  sup 
posed  inventors,  were  found  in  an  old  building, 
formerly  occupied  by  them  in  the  county  of  Essex, 
England.  They  are  now  deposited  in  the  cabinet 
of  the  Medical  and  Chirurgical  Society  of  London.* 
Besides  these  works,  there  are  to  be  found  Baillie's 
Morbid  Anatomy;  Hunter's  Illustrations  of  the 
Gravid  Uterus ;  Sprengel's  History  of  Medicine, 

*  Francis's  edition  of  Dcnman. 


DR.  FRANCIS'S  COLLECTION.  239 

a  small  black-letter  volume  of  150  pages  4to.,  enti 
tled  "  The  Byrth  of  Mankynde,  by  Thomas  Eay- 
nauld,  Physition,"  originally  published  in  1540.  The 
manuscript  copy  was  presented  to  Catharine,  Queen 
of  Henry  VIII.,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Dr. 
Combe.  The  engravings  are  said  to  be  the  first  at 
tempts  at  copperplate  engraving  in  England,  and  are 
chiefly  notable  for  the  rudeness  of  their  execution. 

The  art  of  printing  was  introduced  into  England  in 
1470,  by  William  Caxton,  who  is  represented  to  have 
hired  himself  at  Cologne  as  a  servant,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  becoming  initiated  into  its  mysteries.  The 
first  book  printed  by  Caxton  on  his  return,  was  Bar- 
tJwlomcBus  de  Proprietatibus  Herum,  by  Bartholomew 
Glanville,  a  Franciscan  friar,  who  lived  in  the  time 
of  Edward  III.  The  "  Judycyall  of  Uryus"  was 
printed  in  1512.  A  little  treatise,  called  the  "  Gou- 
ernail  of  Heal  the,"  1532.  In  the  same  year  was 
translated  and  published  parts  of  Galen.  In  1533, 
the  "  Castle  of  Healthe,"  by  Sir  Thomas  Ely  at ;  Al- 
bertus  Magnus ;  "  Questionable  of  Cyrurgyeus,  and 
Prognostications  out  of  the  Books  of  Ypocrasctui- 
con,"  were  published,  and  in  1540,  The  Byrth  of  Man 
kynde,  above  referred  to,  which  thus  appears  to  be 
the  seventh  medical  work  printed  in  England.* 

*  There  is  a  copy  of  this  work  in  Mr.  Allen's  curious  collection. 


240  LIBKAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

Among  works  upon  general  science  are  Brucker's 
Historia  Critica  PliilosopJiioe  ;  Rondeletius's  Treatise 
on  Marine  Fishes,  illustrated  with  plates ;  and  John 
Baptiste  Porta's  (Humana  Pliysiognomia)  Human 
Physiognomy,  published  at  Naples  in  1601,  in  which 
an  attempt  is  made  to  illustrate,  by  comparison, 
the  resemblance  between  the  human  face  and  those 
of  certain  animals,  with  the  happiest  and  most  ar 
tistic  effects.  In  this  work,  which  in  no  small  de 
gree  forms  the  basis  for  Lavater's  great  work  on 
Physiognomy,  these  fancied  resemblances  are  depict 
ed  by  engravings  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as 
they  appear,  in  perhaps  a  more  finished  but  not  less 
truthful  manner,  in  Lavater's  later  and  more  elab 
orate  production.  The  works  of  the  later  writer 
are  quite  common,  but  the  .one  by  Porta  is  seldom 
to  be  met  with.  The  present  copy  originally  be 
longed  to  Dr.  Archibald  Bruce,  of  this  city,  the  first 
Professor  of  Mineralogy  in  the  United  States,  and 
the  editor  of  the  American  Mineralogical  Journal, 
which  was  superseded  by  the  present  Journal,  con 
ducted  by  Dana  and  the  Sillimans,  father  and  son. 

The  author  of  this  work  was  born  in  Naples  in 
1445.  He  held  a  highly  respectable  position  in 
society,  and  was  possessed  of  high  scientific  attain 
ments.  He  organized  a  society,  which  met  at  his 
house,  to  which  no  one  was  admitted  who  had  not 


DR.  FRANCIS'S  COLLECTION.  241 

made  some  discovery  in  science.  He  was  possessed 
of  an  ingenious  turn  of  mind ;  is  said  to  have  first 
formed  the  plan  of  an  encyclopaedia,  and  was  the  in 
ventor  of  the  camera  obscura,  afterward  perfected  by 
s'Gravesande.  He  was  the  author  of  several  works, 
and  among  others,  one  on  Natural  Magic, 

There  is  also  an  excellent  copy  of  Aldrovandus's 
Ornithology.  This  writer,  who  is  often  styled  the 
Father  of  Ornithology,  was  one  of  the  most  labo 
rious  naturalists  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  mani 
fested  a  devotion  to  natural  science  never  surpassed, 
if  equalled.  He  was  of  a  noble  family  in  Italy,  pos 
sessed  a  handsome  estate,  and  impoverished  himself 
by  his  expenditures  in  producing  his  works.  For 
this  purpose,  he  employed  the  services  of  a  skilful 
painter  for  thirty  years,  the  celebrated  engraver 
Christopher  Coriolanus,  and  Bennini  and  Swantus  as 
assistant  naturalists.  Among  his  works,  all  of  which 
are  illustrated  in  the  highest  order  of  art  known 
at  the  time  of  their  execution,  are  his  "  Ornithology," 
"  History  of  Monsters,  Quadrupeds,  Insects  and  Ser 
pents."  Many  accuse  him  of  diffuseness  in  detail, 
but  none  of  want  of  accuracy  in  description.  An 
tiquity  furnishes  no  design  in  natural  history  so 
grand  as  his,  and  yet  in  the  midst  of  all  his  splendid 
projects,  he  died  in  a  hospital  at  Bologna,  blind  and 

in  poverty. 
31 


242  LIBK  ABIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"  Grew's  Rarities,  being  a  Catalogue  of  the  Curios 
ities  in  the  Possession  of  the  Royal  Society,"  is  a 
work  of  much  interest.  Its  author,  who  was  a  dis 
tinguished  physician  and  naturalist,  was  the  first  to 
discover  the  circulation  of  sap  in  plants.  He  was 
born  in  Coventry,  England,  in  1628,  where  he  con 
tinued  to  reside  until  the  brilliancy  of  his  discov 
eries  obtained  for  him  an  invitation  to  visit  London, 
where  his  services  were  retained  by  the  Royal  Soci 
ety.  He  informs  us  that  his  attention  was  first 
directed  to  the  circulation  in  plants  upon  "  reading 
some  of  the  many  and  curious  inventions  of  learned 
men  in  the  bodies  of  animals.  For  considering  that 
both  came  out  of  the  same  hand,  and  were,  therefore, 
the  contrivances  of  the  same  wisdom,  I  thence  fully 
assured  myself  that  it  could  not  be  in  vain  to  seek 
a  design  in  both."  The  idea  once  formed  was  labo 
riously  prosecuted  to  a  successful  termination.  His 
first  essay  on  the  Anatomy  of  Plants,  in  which  his 
theory  was  developed,  was  communicated  to  the 
Royal  Society  by  Bishop  Wilkins,  and  was  received 
with  all  the  consideration  due  to  a  new  and  impor 
tant  discovery  in  science.  He  was  made  a  member 
of  the  Society,  invited  to  London,  and  selected  as  its 
Secretary,  in  which  capacity  he  published  the  Trans 
actions  for  1677,  and  the  Catalogue  of  Curiosities  in 
Dr.  Francis's  collection. 


DR.  FRANCIS'S  COLLECTION.  243 

The  library  of  Dr.  Francis  embraces  some  hundreds, 
say  thousands  of  pamphlets,  many  of  them  rare  and 
curious,  on  historical,  theological,  and  medical  topics. 
If  the  value  of  that  species  of  literature  ever  was 
doubted,  Macaulay  has  demonstrated  its  importance 
in  historical  research. 

In  works  of  distinguished  American  writers,  with 
most  of  whom  Dr.  Francis  was  on  terms  of  great 
familiarity,  the  library  is  quite  complete.  Many  of 
these  were  presented  by  the  authors  or  their  families 
in  consideration  of  their  appreciation  of  his  profes 
sional  services,  or  regard  as  an  individual.  Few 
are  more  generally  known  to  the  living  writers  of 
America  than  Dr.  Francis,  and  probably  no  private 
collection  of  books  has  been  inspected  by  so  great  a 
number  of  men  of  note  in  our  own  country  as  this. 

Dr.  Samuel  W.  Francis  (his  son),  possesses  a  val 
uable  collection  of  autographs,  preserved  in  volumes, 
appropriately  arranged,  and  easy  of  access.  Among 
these  are  to  be  found  an  autograph  letter  by  Segato, 
the  discoverer  of  the  art  of  petrifying  flesh,  a  secret 
which  died  with  him,  the  government  not  paying 
with  sufficient  liberality  for  its  disclosure ;  some 
MS.  music  from  the  hand  of  the  great  Schubert ;  a 
bill  drawn  by  Raphael  Morghan ;  a  letter,  three  pages 
in  length,  written  by  Louis  Philippe,  concerning 
the  plague ;  a  letter  from  Victor  Hugo ;  the  re- 


244  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

spective  letters,  notes  and  autographs  of  Humboldt ; 
Sir  B.  L.  Brodie;  L.  Da  Ponte;  Astley  Cooper; 
George  Combe,  phrenologist ;  Christopher  Colles ;  A. 
Burr;  Cardinal  Fesche;  Anne  Grant;  Bulwer;  W. 
Kaulbach,  the  celebrated  painter ;  Nelson  and 
Bronte ;  Louis  Napoleon,  previous  to  public  life ; 
Napoleon  Bonaparte ;  Joseph  Bonaparte ;  the  Duke 
of  Wellington;  Rossini;  Rothschild;  Madame  de 
Stael ;  Queen  Victoria ;  Lamartine ;  R.  Southey,  MS. 
poem ;  Soemmering ;  and  several  hundred  more,  pre 
served  in  autograph  sheets  and  numbered  for  con 
venience,  together  with  some  valuable  letters  of  the 
royal  family,  found  in  the  palace  of  the  Tuileries 
during  the  Revolution  at  Paris  in  1848. 


ALIGN  W.  GRISWOLD'S  LIBRARY. 


THERE  are  in  this  collection  about  seven  thousand 
volumes,  fifteen  hundred  of  which  consist  of  works 
relating  to  the  owner's  profession — the  law.  The 
remaining  portion  of  the  library  is  of  a  miscellaneous 
character.  The  aim  of  the  collector  seems  to  have 
been  to  bring  together  the  best  copies  of  such  books 
in  the  various  departments  of  literature  as  are  valu 
able  and  not  often  met  with,  and  to  purchase  no 
copy  until  an  opportunity  offered  to  secure  it  in  the 
best  form  and  condition  in  which  it  exists,  or  at  least 
is  attainable.  The  collection  has  been  entirely 
formed  within  the  last  five  years,  and  therefore  makes 
no  pretensions  to  completeness  in  any  of  its  depart 
ments.  One  of  its  marked  features  is  the  condition 
of  the  books,  which  are  generally  on  large  or  fine 
paper,  where  such  exist,  and  which  have  been  selected 
with  the  greatest  care. 

There  is  a  good  collection  of  works  on  Bibliography 
among  which  are  Audiffredi,  De  Bure,  Brunet,  Dib- 
din,  Lowndes,  Edwards,  Hartshorn,  Greswell,  Martin, 
all  on  large  paper,  uncut.  Also,  Annales  de  rim- 


246  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

primer  ie  des  Aide,  on  Histoire  des  trois  Manuce  et  de 
leurs  Editions,  par  Ant.  Aug.  Renouard,  Paris,  3  vols- 
8vo.,  on  large  vellum  paper,  of  which  only  six  copies 
were  printed.  This  copy  is  made  more  valuable  by 
having  bound  up  with  it  at  the  end  of  the  second 
volume,  Signor  Amoretti's  Letter  a  sull  Anno  Nat- 
alizio  cFAldo  Pio  Manuzio,  &c.,  Rome,  1804. 

There  are  also  in  the  collection  the  works  of  Rich, 
Ternaux,  Clark ;  Kennett's  Bibliotlieca  Americana 
>Primordia;  Homer's  Bibliotlieca  Americana;  and 
Ludwig's  Literature  of  American  Local  History, 
1846,  with  the  supplement  complete.  This  is  the 
author's  own  interleaved  copy,  containing  his  addi 
tions  and  corrections  for  a  new  and  greatly  enlarged 
edition,  which  was  nearly  ready  for  the  press  at  the 
time  of  his  death. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  catalogues  of  public 
and  private  libraries,  among  which  is  De  Bure's 
Catalogue  des  litres  rares  et  precieux  de  la  bibliotlieque 
de  la  Gomte  de  Mac-Gartliy-IReagli,  Paris,  1815  ;  Cat 
alogue  of  the  library  of  Queen  Caroline,  sold  by 
Christie  in  1819;  of  Theodore  Williams;  and  of 
James  Edwards,  all  on  large  paper.  In  this  last 
catalogue  is  a  fac-simile  engraving  of  the  Portland 
Vase.  This  library,  which  contained  but  830  titles, 
realized  £8,453.  There  is  also  a  copy  of  the  Rox- 
burghe  Catalogue,  containing  a  curious  manuscript 


MR.  GEIS WOLD'S  COLLECTION.  247 

note  at  the  bottom  of  page  173,  apparently  made  at 
the  time,  giving  an  account  of  the  contention  between 
Lord  Spencer  and  the  Marquis  of  Blandford,  for  the 
famous  copy  of  II  Decamerone  di  Bocacccio,  printed 
by  Valdarfar,  Venice,  14*71,  which  resulted  in  the 
purchase  of  the  book  by  the  marquis  for  £2,260 
sterling,  the  highest  price  ever  given  for  a  printed 
book* 

The  department  of  American  History  contains 
many  scarce  and  valuable  books,  among  them,  The 
General  History  of  Virginia,  New  England,  and  the 
Summer  Isles,  by  Captaine  lohn  Smith,  &c.,  London, 
1624,  folio.  This  is  a  superb  copy  with  the  engraved 
title,  and  all  the  plates  and  maps  clean  and  perfect, 
and  was  bound  for  its  present  possessor  from  an 
uncut  copy  in  boards.  Neither  Lowndes,  Rich,  or 


*  The  following  is  the  note  referred  to,  given  in  the  precise  lan 
guage  in  which  it  appears  in  the  catalogue  : 

"  The  marquis  proposed  putting  it  in  at  £5,  but  Lord  Spencer 
put  it  in  at  £100.  When  the  marquis  bid  the  last  10,  Lord  S.  said, 
4 1  bow  to  you.'  Presently  the  marquis  offered  him  his  hand,  saying, 
4  we  are  good  friends  still.'  His  Lordship  replied,  '  perfectly,  indeed 
I  am  obliged  to  you.'  So  am  I  to  you,  said  the  marquis,  therefore 
the  obligation  is  mutual.'  When  it  was  knocked  down,  there  was  a 
general  'huzzah!'  He  said  he  would  have  gone  as  high  as  £5,000. 
Before  he  had  a  similar  copy,  but  it  wanted  5  leaves,  '  for  which, 
Lord  S.  observed,  'he  might  be  said  to  have  given  £2,260.' 

"  Evans's  head  was  so  turned  with  repeating  large  sums,  that  when 
he  came  to  the  next  lot,  which  was  No.  6293,  he  cried  out  6293 
pounds  !'  which  caused  a  prodigious  laugh." 


248  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Ternaux  alludes  to  an  edition  of  the  work  as  pub 
lished  in  1624,  but  give  1626  as  the  date  of  the  first 
edition.  Dibdin,  however,  in  his  Library  Companion, 
gives  the  following  description  of  the  work,  which 
corresponds  principally  with  the  present  copy. 

"  I  now  come  to  the  more  famous  work  of  Smith, 
being  his  General  History  of  Virginia,  that  country 
having  been  visited  by  him  between  the  years  1584- 
1623,  and  the  work  published  in  a  folio  volume  in 
'1624.  Mr.  Grenville's  copy  of  this  book  will  throw 
a  collector  of  Travels  into  a  succession  of  ecstasies. 
It  is  on  large  paper.  It  has  both  the  portraits,  gen 
uine  and  counterfeit ;  the  one  of  Frances,  Bucliess  of 
Richmond,  by  Will  Pass,  and  the  other  of  an  exceed 
ingly  ill- looking  prince  called  Matoaka,  by  Holland. 
There  is  also  a  third  and  brilliant  little  portrait,  by 
Simon  Pass,  of  the  author,  "  Captayne  lohn  Smith." 
This  is  at  the  top,  at  the  left  hand  corner  of  the  last 
map.  But  a  fine  impression  of  the  frontispiece  is 
worth  more  than  a  moment's  gaze.  Above  are  the 
portraits  of  Elizabeth,  James,  and  Charles,  when 
Prince  of  Wales.  The  engraver  was  John  Barra. 
Note,  it  is  remarked  by  Mr.  Grenville,  that  sheet  O 
is  suppressed,  and  that  the  defective  paging  from 
96  to  105,  is  not  supplied  in  all  the  copies  of  this 
book/''"' 

*Dibdin's  Library  Companion,  p.  385. 


MR.  GKIS  WOLD'S  COLLECTION.  249 

There  are  also  Ogilby's  America,  London,  1671 ; 
De  Nieuwe  en  Onbekende  Weereld,  Door  Arnoldus 
Montanus,  1671;  Taliafero's  Narrative  of  the  settle 
ment  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia,  in  America ;  Mor 
gan's  Anti-Paedo-Rantism,  Philadelphia,  1747,  and 
Law's  Spirit  of  Prayer,  1760,  both  printed  by  Ben 
Franklin;  Boquet's  Expedition  against  the  Ohio 
Indians;  Mather's  Magnalia,  folio,  1702,  Christian 
Philosopher,  and  various  other  works  of  this  author  • 
Cotton's  "Bloudy  Tenent,"  4to.,  1647;  also  Hutchin- 
son's  History  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  with  the  volume 
of  original  papers,  1769,  which  furnish  the  basis 
for  this  work  ;  Thomas's  Historical  Account  of  Penn- 
silvania  and  New  Jersey,  London,  1698  ;  Josselyn's 
Two  Voyages  to  New  England,  1674;  "Joyfull 
Newes  out  of  the  Newe  Founde  Worlde,  &c.,  Eng 
lished  by  John  Frampton,  merchant"  -  -  fine  copy, 
London,  1580 ;  Hubbard's  Narrative  of  the  Troubles 
with  the  Indians  in  New  England,  from  the  first 
planting  thereof  in  the  year  1607,  to  the  present 
year,  1677,  to  which  is  added  a  discourse  about 
the  war  with  the  Pequods,  in  the  year  1637,  Ipswich, 
1677 — fine  large  uncut  copy,  with  the  rare  map 
which  is  usually  wanting ;  Worsley's  View  of  the 
American  Indians,  London,  1837 ;  Colden's  Five 
Indian  Nations;  and  the  "Tryal  of  John  Peter 

Zenger,  of  New  York,  printer,  who  was  lately  tryed 
32 


250  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

and  acquitted  for  publishing  a  libel  against  the  gov 
ernment,  London,  1738."  This  is  chiefly  noticeable 
on  account  of  its  being  an  account  of  the  first  gov 
ernment  libel  suit  ever  tried  in  America. 

Some  of  the  most  valuable,  as  well  as  the  earliest 
descriptions  of  America,  are  those  which  relate  to 
the  West  Indies,  or  New  Spain.  Among  the  works 
of  this  character  in  the  collection,  are  America,  or  an 
exact  description  of  the  West  Indies,  by  N.  1ST., 
'London,  1665.  Poyntz's  Present  Prospect  of  the 
Fertile  and  Famous  Island  of  Tobago,  London,  1695, 
in  which  a  scheme  for  the  investment  of  money  is 
suggested,  as  wild  and  visionary  as  that  of  the 
famous  Mississippi  bubble;  Herrera's  Historia  de 
las  Indias,  8  vols.  folio,  1601  ;  Herrera's  Novus  Or- 
bis  sive  Descriptio  Indies  Occidentals,  Amsterdam, 
1622;  Alcedo's  West  Indies;  De  Poincy's  Histoire 
NatureUe  et  Morale  des  lies  Antilles  de  TAmerique, 
Paris,  1659,  containing  a  vocabulary  of  the  Carib 
bean  language,  and  a  translation  of  the  same  into 
English,  by  John  Davis,  London,  1666 ;  Poyen's 
History  of  Barbadoes ;  a  Defence  of  the  settlement 
of  the  Scots  on  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  in  America, 
with  arguments  to  prove  that  it  is  the  interest  of 
England  to  join  with  them  and  to  protect  them  in 
that  colony,  Edinburgh,  1699  ;  Friendly  Advice  to 
the  Gentleman  Planters  of  the  East  and  West  Indies, 


ME.   GEIS WOLD'S  COLLECTION.  251 

1684  ;  Gage's  New  Survey  of  the  West  Indies,  folio, 
London,  1648  ;  Joutel's  Journal  of  La  Salle's  last 
Voyage,  London,  1714;  Herrera's  General  History, 
London,  1725;  Charlevoix's  Journal,  London,  1761 ; 
and  the  History  of  the  Conquest  of  the  West  Indies, 
now  New  Spain,  by  Cortes,  London,  1595.  This 
translation  of  Gomara's  Cronica  de  Nueva  Espana, 
which  is  a  very  handsomely  printed  black-letter 
quarto,  is  of  high  authority  as  a  work  of  reference, 
and  commands  a  high  price  in  the  book-market. 

Among  the  early  voyages  the  collection  contains 
Grynaeu's  Novus  Orbis  Regionum,  &c.,  large  paper 
folio,  Basle,  1555  ;  Linschoten's  Discourse  of  Voyages 
into  the  East  and  West  Indies,  folio,  black  letter, 
London,  1587 — a  fine  copy,  with  all  the  plates  and 
maps  complete,  and  most  sumptuously  bound  in 
Russia ;  Hakluyt's  collection  of  Early  Voyages,  5 
vols.  folio,  London,  1809-12,  a  large-paper  copy  of  the 
edition  edited  by  Mr.  Evans,  which  possesses  an  ad 
vantage  over  the  earlier  edition  of  the  work,  in  con 
taining  various  publications  of  Hakluyt,  and  others 
of  his  time,  not  in  the  edition  of  1599-1600;  Cha- 
bert's  Voyage  dans  VAmerique,  Paris,  1753 ;  Le 
Voyage  Historique,  de  VAmerique  Meridionale,  of 
Juan  and  Ulloa,  containing  a  history  of  the  Incas  of 
Peru,  and  astronomical  and  and  physical  observations 
made  to  determine  the  figure  and  size  of  the  earth, 


252  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

2  vols.  4to.,  Amsterdam,  1151.  Labat's  Voyage  de 
VAmerique ;  Dampier's  Collection  of  Voyages ;  and 
Ternaux's  Voyages  Relations  et  Memoires  originaux 
pour  servir  a  THistoire  de  la  Decouverte  de  VAme- 
rique,  20  vols.  8vo. ;  as  well  as  the  voyages  of 
Beechy,  Phipps,  Fisher,  and  Richardson. 

The  collection  contains  a  number  of  valuable  works 
relating  to  the  History  of  the  Revolution,  and  im 
mediately  antecedent  thereto,  among  wrhich  are  many 
scarce  tracts,  rarely  met  with.  Among  these  are 
Mayhew's  "  Snare  Broken,"  addressed  to  Pitt  as  the 
patron  of  America,  on  the  occasion  of  the  repeal  of 
the  Stamp  Act,  Boston,  1776  ;  Prentice's  Sermon  on 
the  Reduction  of  Cape  Breton ;  Foxcroft  on  the  sur 
render  of  Montreal;  Price's  Observations  on  Civil 
Liberty ;  and  Dummer's  Defence  of  the  New  Eng 
land  Charters.  There  are  copies  of  the  collected 
writings  of  Washington,  Franklin,  Adams,  Gouver- 
neur  Morris,  and  the  correspondence  of  the  Revolution 
—all  on  large  paper,  uncut.  Among  the  individual 
works  relating  to  the  Revolution,  are  Ramsey's 
American  Revolution ;  Mrs.  Mercy  Warren's ;  Tarle- 
ton's  Campaigns ;  Burgoyne's  Expedition ;  and  Lee's 
Memoirs  of  the  wars  in  the  Southern  department. 
The  collection  contains  the  historical  collections  of 
the  states  of  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Rhode  Island, 
New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  complete,  and  a  fine 


MR.  GEIS WOLD'S  COLLECTION.  253 

collection  of  state  and  general  histories.  It  is 
likewise  rich  in  histories  of  the  individual  states  of 
South  America  and  Mexico,  in  which  all  are  more 
or  less  well  represented.  Among  those  relating  to 
the  latter,  is  a  copy  of  Lord  Kingsborough's  Mexican 
Antiquities,  9  vols.  folio,  with  colored  plates.  In 
English  history,  besides  the  usual  standard  works, 
there  are  a  number  devoted  to  the  period  of  Crom 
well.  A  sumptuous  copy  of  Bowyer's  Hume,  in 
10  vols.  folio,  which  is  the  most  costly  historical 
work  ever  issued  from  the  English  press,  deserves 
special  mention.  There  are  likewise  copies  of  Lord 
Somers's  tracts,  by  Scott,  in  13  vols.  4to.,  1809-13; 
and  the  Harleian  Miscellany,  10  vols.  4to.,  1808-13, 
large  and  uncut.  Among  the  works  on  French  His 
tory  is  the  Hecueil  des  Historiens  des  Gaules  et  de  la 
France,  &c.,  begun  by  Dom  Martin  Bouquet,  and 
continued  by  Haudiquier,  Precieux,  Clement,  Porier, 
and  Brial,  folio,  Paris,  1738-1859,  22  vols.  Of  this 
great  work,  of  which  Dibdin  says  "  that  when  Bou 
quet  laid  the  foundation-stone,  he  planned  a  work 
which  places  him,  if  we  except  Muratori,  quite  at 
the  head  of  all  antiquarian  historians,"*  there  are 
but  few  copies  in  this  country.  The  one  in  Mr. 
Griswold's  collection  is  a  fine  large-paper  copy,  hand- 

*  Dihdin's  Library  Companion,  p.  289. 


254  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

somely  bound  in  crimson  Levant  morocco,  with 
gilt  edges.  It  has  the  arms  of  Louis  Philippe 
stamped  upon  it,  and  is  said  to  have  belonged  to 
him. 

In  the  department  of  Belles  Lettres  there  is  a 
good  collection.  There  are  eight  separate  editions 
of  Shakespeare;  the  first  collected  edition  of  the 
works  of  Ben  Jonson,  2  vols.  folio,  1616-31 ;  Ben 
Jonson's  translation  of  Horace's  Art  of  Poetry,  Lon 
don,  1640;  Duppa's  lonsonvs  Virbivs,  London,  1628 ; 
the  works  of  Shirley,  6  vols.,  large  paper,  1833  ; 
Dyce's  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  11  vols.;  Dodsley's 
collection  of  old  plays,  12  vols.,  large  paper;  Her- 
rick's  works,  2  vols.  4to.,  London,  1823,  large  paper; 
the  Chiswick  edition  of  the  British  Poets,  printed  by 
Whittingham,  1822,  100  vols.  uncut;  Byron's  works, 
8  vols.  4to.,  London,  1839,  large  paper;  there  are 
various  editions  of  Milton,  Thompson,  and  Spenser ; 
Pope's  collected  works,  16  vols.  4to. ;  Whittaker's 
Peirs  Plouhman,  in  black  letter,  4to.,  1813;  Helico- 
nia,  3  vols.  4to.,  London,  1815,  large  paper ;  Barlow's 
Columbiad,  4to. ;  Musa/rum  Delicice,  London,  1817  ; 
There  are  a  number  of  privately  printed  books, 
among  which  are  those  of  the  Roxburghe  and  Ban- 
natyne  Clubs,  and  Lee  Priory  presses;  Northcote's 
Fables.  There  is  a  copy  of  Shenstone's  works,  3 
vols.,  1^764,  interleaved  and  bound  in  6  vols.  It  con- 


MR.  GUIS  WOLD'S  COLLECTION.  255 

tains  a  pastoral  elegy  to  the  memory  of  Shenstone, 
by  Thomas  Hull  (the  actor),  numerous  cuttings 
relative  to,  and  an  original  autograph  poem  and 
various  criticisms  by  Shenstone.  Whiting,  IN".  Le 
Hore  "  de  Recreations,  or  the  pleasant  Historic  of 
Albino  and  Bellama,  discovering  the  several  changes 
of  Fortune  in  Cupid's  journey  to  Hymen's  Joys,  with 
the  Vindication  of  the  Divine  breath  of  Poesie," 
London,  1638 ;  Wither's  (George)  Vox  Pacifica, 
1645;  Echoes  from  the  Sixth  Trumpet,  1655;  Spec 
ulum  Speculativum,  1660 ;  Divine  Poems,  <fec.,  1688, 
and  several  other  works  of  this  quaint  anthor.  Tur- 
berville's  (George)  Booke  of  Falconrie  or  Hawking, 
and  the  Noble  Art  of  Venerie  or  Hunting,  2  vols. 
4to.,  black  letter,  1611;  Whitney's  (Geoffrey)  Choice 
Emblems  and  other  Devises  gathered  out  of  sundrie 
writers,  <fec.,  printed  at  Leyden,  in  the  house  of  Chris 
topher  Plantyn,  1586.  There  are  in  the  collection, 
among  other  works  relating  to  Natural  History, 
Selby's  Birds  of  Great  Britain,  2  vols.  atlas,  with 
2  vols.  letter-press,  sumptuously  bound  in  green 
Levant  morocco,  by  Wright;  Audubon's  Birds  of 
North  America,  4  vols.  double-elephant,  with  5  vols. 
letter-press ;  also  several  editions  of  Walton  and 
Cotton's  Angler,  including  the  fine  one  of  Pickering. 
Lord  Fulke's  works,  with  the  autograph  of  J.  P. 
Collier.  Among  the  old  plays  in  the  collection,  are 


256  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Shirley's    Contention    for   Honor,    London,    1623 ; 
Daniel's  Queen's  Arcadia,  London,  1623. 

Among  the  works  in  the  Classical  Department,  is 
a  large-paper  copy  of  Valpy's  edition  of  the  classics, 
in  185  vols. ;  Wakefield's  Lucretius;  Virgil,  pub 
lished  by  Dulau,  London,  1800  ;  Pine's  Georgics  of 
Virgil,  with  numerous  plates,  and  the  whole  text 
engraved ;  the  Oxford  edition  of  Cicero,  10  vols.  4to., 
1783,  and  Cicero's  Tusculance  Di-sputationes,  Ven 
ice,  1480.  Among  other  early  printed  books  is 
Pauli  de  Venetii's  Summa  Naturalium,  printed  by 
John  de  Colonia,  folio,  1476  ;  Fasciculus  Temporum, 
per  The.  Huernen,  folio,  1474  ;  the  works  of  Chry- 
sostom,  5  vols.  folio,  Basle,  1517.  There  is  likewise 
Pietro  Lombardi's  Textus  Sententiarum  una  cum 
Condusionibus,  Gothic -letter,  folio,  Basle,  1488. 
Bishop  Lombardi,  who  lived  in  the  twelfth  century, 
obtained  from  the  character  of  this  able  work,  the 
title  of  "  Master  of  Sentences,"  and  so  great  was  the 
reputation  it  obtained,  that  no  less  than  two  hun 
dred  and  forty-four  commentaries  were  written  upon 
it.*  The  present  copy  is  copiously  annotated  upon 
its  wide  margin  by  some  former  possessor. 

*  Fleury's  Ecclesiastical   History. 


ARCHBISHOP  HUGHES'S  LIBRARY. 


Tins  library  contains  upward  of  ten  thousand 
volumes,  and  is  for  the  most  part  devoted  to  Eccle 
siastical  writings,  although  there  are  a  large  number 
of  volumes  on  general  literature,  some  of  which  are 
rare  and  curious. 

Among  those  works  which  arrest  the  attention, 
are  the  Defense  du  Cliristianisme,  by  Archbishop 
Frayssinous,  the  minister  of  Louis  XVIII. ;  Lamen- 
nais's  Essai  sur  1} Indifference,  and  his  defence  of  this 
work ;  Migne's  TJieologice  Cursus  •  the  Cliiesa  Cat- 
tolica,  and  Prcelectiones  Theological,  by  Perrone ;  De 
Monalibus,  by  Pellizarii ;  a  very  beautiful  edition  of 
the  works  of  Erasmus,  published  at  Basle  in  1529, 
in  folio,  and  superintended  by  the  author  in  person ; 
Ferrari's  Prompta  Bibliotlieca,  a  very  valuable  au 
thority  on  all  subjects  connected  with  canon  law  and 
church  discipline,  now  being  republished  at  Paris 
and  at  Monte  Casino,  in  Italy,  the  father  house  of 
the  order  of  the  Benedictines,  and  the  BilMotlieca 

Orientally  by  Assemanus,  Archbishop  of  Tyre,  and 
33 


258  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

librarian  of  the  Vatican.  This  valuable  work, 
which  is  replete  with  information  for  the  Oriental 
student,  and  which  contains  a  reliable  account  of 
the  origin  of  the  Russians  and  the  early  nations  of 
the  East,  was  published  at  Rome  at  various  inter 
vals  between  1719  and  1728,  after  the  manner  of 
Herbelot.  Its  author  was  assisted  by  his  nephew, 
the  Archbishop  of  Apamea,  and  his  successor  in  the 
Vatican  library,  who  was  likewise  an  excellent 
'Oriental  scholar  and  the  author  of  several  other 
works. 

There  is  likewise  a  copy  of  Disputationes  de 
Controversiis  Fidei,  by  Bellarmine,  published  in 
1590 ;  an  edition  of  the  same  work  published  in 
1593 ;  the  Dictionnaire  de  Tlieologie,  and  the  Diction- 
naire  des  Heresies,  by  Bergier,  the  great  opponent 
of  the  infidel  writers  of  the  last  century ;  La  Sainte 
Bible  Vengee,  by  Duclas  ;  Groth's  Tlieologica  Opera, 
published  in  1732  ;  Grceca  Ortliodoxia,  by  Leo  Alla- 
tius,  librarian  of  the  Vatican* ;  a  folio  copy  of  Luther's 
Familiar  Discourses,  the  English  edition  of  which 
was  superintended  by  Captain  Bell ;  La  Symboliqiie, 
by  Moehler,  the  distinguished  controversialist ; 
Migne's  Tlieologice  Our&us,  in  27  vols. ;  Pleyer's 
Legitima  Ecdes.  Ordinum  Susceptione,  and  the  com 
plete  works  of  Pope  Benedict  XIV.,  in  17  vols.  4to. 
Benedict  XIV.  whose  name  was  Lambertini,  was  one 


ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES  S    COLLECTION.  259 

of  the  most  learned  men  and  voluminous  writers  of 
his  age.  His  knowledge  of  canon  law  and  ecclesias 
tical  history  w^as  very  profound.  After  his  death, 
his  entire  works  were  published  by  Azevedo. 

In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  a  fine  large- 
paper  copy  of  the  Homilies  and  Acts  of  the  Council 
of  Milan,  by  St.  Charles  Borromeo.  This  eminent 
author  was  the  nephew  of  Pius  IV.,  under  whose 
authority  the  celebrated  Council  of  Trent  was 
assembled,  and  was  the  first  to  carry  its  acts  into 
execution.  He  was  created  a  cardinal  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two,  and  afterward  Archbishop  of  Milan. 
At  Rome,  whither  he  went,  he  found  himself  sur 
rounded  by  a  gay  court,  and  while  discharging  the 
duties  of  his  station  with  promptness  and  fidelity, 
maintained  an  establishment  of  the  most  sumptuous 
kind.  His  apartments  and  equipages  were  elegantly 
appointed,  his  table  was  served  with  exquisite  viands, 
and  his  costly  palace  never  without  a  number  of 
guests  selected  from  men  of  learning  and  nobles  of 
exalted  rank. 

The  majority  of  those  convened  at  the  Council  of 
Trent  deprecated  the  luxurious  habits  of  many  of 
the  clergy,  and  the  degeneracy  of  more,  and  loudly 
called  for  a  reform,  in  which  they  were  joined  by 
Cardinal  Borromeo,  who  not  only  seconded  their 
views,  but  was  the  first  to  set  an  example  in  his  own 


260  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

establishment  by  discharging  no  less  than  eighty  of 
his  liveried  servants,  and  reducing  his  household  to 
the  smallest  dimensions.  He  abandoned  the  use  of 
silk  in  his  own  garments,  observed  a  fast  of  bread 
and  water  once  each  week,  and  converted  his  costly 
palace  into  a  seminary  for  bishops.  He  was  inde 
fatigable  in  the  establishment  of  schools  and  col 
leges,  and  institutions  for  the  relief  of  the  poor.  In 
the  ardor  of  the  zeal  which  characterized  him  as 
Archbishop  of  Milan,  he  frequently  gave  offence  by 
the  rigidity  of  his  discipline,  and  on  several  occa 
sions  stood  in  imminent  peril  of  his  own  life.  No 
one  who  reads  his  life,  as  given  by  Valerio,  the  Arch 
bishop  of  Verona,  or  the  still  more  interesting  one 
from  the  pen  of  the  Abbe  Touran,  entitled  La  Vie 
et  1?  Esprit  de  St.  diaries  jBorromeo,  published  at 
Paris  in  1Y61,  can  fail  to  be  convinced  that,  however 
mistaken  may  have  been  his  more  rigorous  acts  in 
the  service  of  Christianity,  they  derived  their  origin 
from  the  noblest  motives,  and  were  generally  correct. 
The  library  of  St.  Sepulchre,  at  Milan,  treasures 
with  great  care  thirty-one  volumes  of  his  manuscript 
letters. 

The  library  is  well  supplied  with  the  best  author 
ities  on  dogmatic  and  moral  theology,  among  which 
are  the  treatises  on  Tlieologia  Moral/is,  by  Antoine 
and  Buillart ;  the  general  works  of  Bonacinre ;  De 


AKCHBISIIOP    HUGHES'S    COLLECTIO]ST.  261 

Justitia  et  Jure,  by  Carriere,  the  present  Superior 
of  the  order  of  St.  Sulpice,  in  Paris ;  Concilia's  Tlie- 
ologia  Christiana;  Scavini's  Moral  Theology;  and 
an  elaborate  and  able  treatise  on  the  same  subject 
by  the  present  distinguished  Archbishop  of  Balti 
more  and  Primate  of  the  Catholic  church  in  the 
United  States. 

There  is  an  excellent  collection  of  the  writings  of 
the  Fathers,  including  a  fine  copy  of  the  best  edition 
of  the  Patres  Apostolici — that  by  Cotelerius,  now 
extremely  rare — and  the  separate  works  of  St.  Am 
brose,  St.  Athanasius,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Bernard,  St. 
Cyprian,  of  the  edition  of  1525 ;  St.  Chrysostom,  of 
the  editions  of  1525,  1536,  1570,  and  1723;  St. 
Cyrill,  Tertulian,  St.  Hilary,  and  St.  Thomas  Aqui 
nas. 

There  are  many  works  on  canon  law :  as  the  A  eta 
Benedictii ';  the  Acta  Ecdesiw  Mediolanensis;  the 
large  work  of  Barbarosa,  the  eminent  canonist,  en 
titled  Collectanea  Juris  Ecclesiastics,  in  18  vols  ; 
an  excellent  copy  of  the  works  of  Bishop  Beveridge, 
of  the  Established  Church  of  England,  on  canon  law, 
which,  strangely  enough,  has  a  far  greater  reputation 
on  the  Continent  than  in  Great  Britain ;  the  Bulla- 
rium  Pontificum  ;  a  complete  copy  of  the  Bullarium 
Magnum;  the  Corpus  Juris  Ganonici  of  Gilbert 
and  Friesleben  ;  a  good  copy  of  Lynwood's  rare  folio 


262  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

on  the  Provincial  Councils  of  England  prior  to  the 
Kefonnation,  and  La  Plat's  Monumenta  Goncilii  Tri- 
dentini,  in  eight  volumes,  with  those  of  Ferrari's, 
already  noticed. 

Although  not  professing  great  strength  in  ecclesi 
astical  antiquities,  the  library  contains  a  number  of 
valuable  and  some  curious  works  on  this  subject,  as 
the  Annals  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith ;  Collier's 
Ecclesiastical  History  of  Great  Britain ;  Bingham's 
works,  in  8  vols. ;  Mamachi's  Origin  and  Antiq 
uities  of  Christianity,  in  6  vols. ;  a  very  fine  edition 
of  Helyot's  Histoire  des  Ordres  Monastiques,  in  8 
vols.,  which  is  full  of  learned  research,  and  gives  a 
more  correct  view  of  the  subject  of  which  it  treats 
than  any  which  had  then  appeared ;  Lettres  Edifi- 
antes  et  Gurieuses,  in  14  vols. ;  Mozochi's  Historical 
Dissertations ;  La  Quien's  Oriens  Gliristianus,  a  very 
valuable  work;  Raynaldi's  Annales  Ecclesiastical, 
in  15  vols. ;  Schlestrate's  Antiquitas  Ecclesice,  a 
copy  of  the  Angli  Sacra  by  Wharton,  chaplain  to 
Archbishop  Bancroft,  and  Lingard's  Antiquities  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  church. 

In  this  class  are  Fleury's  Ecclesiastical  History, 
24  vols. ;  Palavicini's  History  of  the  Council  of 
Trent ;  Memoirs  to  Serve  for  an  Ecclesiastical  His 
tory  ;  Documents  of  the  Jesuits,  and  a  fine  and 
complete  edition  of  the  Annales  Ecclesiastic®  of 


AKCIIBISHOP    HUGHES'S    COLLECTION.  263 

Cardinal  Baronius,  tlie  Father  of  Church  History, 
with  the  continuation,  in  nineteen  volumes. 

Among  works  relating  to  mystic  theology,  the 
more  rare  are  Bellecius's  Medulla  Asceseos  ;  the 
writings  of  St.  Theresa,  a  woman  of  remarkable 
intellect,  whose  opinions  are  much  esteemed  by 
those  conversant  with  them;  a  curious  old  work 
in  two  folio  volumes,  on  emblems,  filled  with  sym 
bolical  illustrations,  called  Mundu-s  Syml)oliciis,  the 
works  of  Justus,  printed  in  1555,  and  Pascal's 
Pensees. 

There  is  a  good  collection  of  various  editions  of 
the  Bible,  in  different  languages,  and  commentators 
upon  the  Holy  Scriptures,  among  which  are  the. 
Venetian  edition,  in  27  vols. ;  the  Bible  de  Saci, 
published  in  1724,  in  23  vols.;  the  Concordantia ; 
the  London  Polyglot,  of  1657 ;  Bogetus's  collec 
tion  of  English  versions ;  Finetti's  Storia  del  Te-sta- 
men.  Antico ;  Meldonatus's  Commentaries  on  the 
Four  Evangelists ;  Scripture®  Our&iis  Completus,  in 
28  vols.;  and  the  Glossary  of  Du  Cange,  with  the 
continuation  by  Carpentier,  one  of  the  most  valuable 
works  of  the  time,  to  which  scholars  have  been 
largely  indebted  for  a  knowledge  of  the  incidents 
connected  with  the  middle  ages. 

The  collection  contains  a  manuscript  folio  Bible  of 
the  14th  century,  probably  written  about  the  year 


264  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

1350.  It  is  deficient  in  its  title-page,  and  there  is 
no  trace  to  indicate  by  whom  the  immense  labor  of 
writing  it  was  accomplished.  The  illuminations  are 
neither  elaborate  nor  highly  finished,  but  the  text 
is  distinct  and  well  preserved.  This  copy  of  the 
Bible  is  remarkable  from  the  circumstance  that, 
although  it  contains  all  the  other  portions  of  Scrip 
tures,  from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  yet  the  Psalms  of 
David  are  entirely  omitted.  The  chapters  are  num 
bered,  but  are  not  divided  into  verses.  Two  epistles 
of  St.  Jerome  serve  as  an  introduction,  but  probably 
in  consequence  of  being  the  first  leaves,  both  the 
writing  and  the  parchment  have  been  much  deterio 
rated  by  time. 

There  is  a  fine  copy  of  the  Parisian  Polyglot,  of 
Le  Jay,  in  ten  imperial  folio  volumes,  published  in 
1640,  which  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  specimens 
of  typography  ever  issued  from  the  Parisian  press  ; 
and  the  Commentaries  on  the  whole  Bible,  by  Nich 
olas  de  Lyra,  originally  published  in  manuscript 
during  the  13th  century.  These  commentaries  are 
comprised  in  seven  folio  volumes,  printed  at  Rome  in 
14Y2,  a  little  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  discov 
ery  of  the  art  of  printing.  Complete  copies  of  the 
first  edition  of  these  commentaries  are  extremely  rare, 
and  are  curious  because  the  fifth  volume  contains  an 
address  to  Sixtus  IV.,  in  which  is  found  a  list  of  the 


ARCHBISHOP    HUGHES'S    COLLECTION.  265 

works  printed  up  to  that  time,  with  the  number  of 
copies  and  titles  of  each  of  them. 

It  may  be  well  to  mention  a  curious  volume,  begun 
in  printing  and  terminated  in  manuscript,  on  "  De 
Valore  et  Utilitate  Misaram  pro  Defunctis  Celebra- 
tarum?  This  curious  work  was  printed  in  1474,  but 
has  neither  title-page  nor  name  of  author,  and  fur 
nishes  no  clue  as  to  the  place  where  it  was  printed. 
Tie  manuscript  portion  of  the  volume  is  an  exposi 
tion  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Hail  Mary. 
Whether,  in  this  early  day,  the  printer  had  ex 
hausted  his  supply  of  type,  or  found  the  process 
of  printing  too  slow  for  him,  and  returned  to  the 
more  familiar  use  of  the  pen,  is  a  subject  curious 
to  speculate  upon,  but  which  cannot  now  be  deter 
mined. 

There  is  also  an  exceedingly  curious  polyglot 
dictionary  in  eleven  languages,  by  Ambrose  Cale- 
pini,  a  Venetian  by  birth,  and  an  Augustinian  friar. 
This  is  doubtless  the  first  edition  of  this  mammoth 
dictionary,  and  in  that  case  was  printed  in  1503. 
Other  editions  of  this  work  were  published  in  1590, 
1654  and  1758.  Calepini  died  in  1510. 

There  is  in  the  collection  an  excellent  copy  of  the 
Ada  Sanctorum,  by  Bollandus  and  his  successors,  in 
fifty-four  large  folio  volumes.  The  conception  of 

this  immense  work  is  due  to  Hesibert  Roseweide,  a 
34 


LIBRARIES    OF   NEW    YOKK. 

member  of  the  society  of  Jesus,  who  projected  the 
undertaking  at  the  advanced  age  of  sixty.  His 
original  design  was  to  embrace  the  entire  work  in 

o  o 

sixteen  folio  volumes,  but  death  put  an  end  to  his 
labors  before  he  had  scarcely  well  defined  his  task. 
The  project  was  then  intrusted  to  Bollandus  when 
he  was  about  thirty-four  years  of  age.  He  removed 
to  Antwerp  for  the  purpose,  and  associated  with  him 
Henschenius  and  Paperbroch,  members  of  the  same 
religious  order.  Upon  the  decease  of  Bollandus, 
which  occurred  in  1665,  after  the  publication  of 
several  volumes,  the  work  was  committed  to  various 
hands,  called  Bollandists,  who  have  since  continued 
it  with  great  zeal  and  ability,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus.  At  the  present  moment,  sev 
eral  learned  fathers  of  this  society  are  actively  en 
gaged  in  the  city  of  Brussels  in  its  continuation. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  valuable  works  on 
subjects  of  a  general  nature ;  as  EArt  de  Verifier 
les  Dates,  in  40  vols. ;  Cave's  Historia  Liter  aria, 
the  edition  of  1740  ;  an  excellent  edition  of  Fabri- 
cius's  Billiotlieca  Grceca,  in  14  vols. ;  Moroni's  Dim- 
nario  di  Erudizione,  in  62  vols. ;  Ginguene's  Histoire 
Litterarie  d'ltalie,  9  vols.;  and  the  very  valuable 
Annali  d"1  Italia,  by  Muratori,  in  18  vols. 

Muratori  was  one  of  the  most  learned  antiquarians 
of  his  age.  He  performed  for  Italy  almost  as  valu- 


ATCCIIBISHOP    HUGHES'S    COLLECTION.  267 

able  a  service,  in  collecting  its  historical  incidents,  as 
Montfaucon  did  for  France.  Gibbon  had  frequent 
occasion  to  consult  his  works,  and  speaks  of  him  in 
terms  of  just  commendation.  His  Antiquitates  Ital- 
icce  Medii  ^Evi,  published  in  1738-42,  at  Milan,  in 
six  folio  volumes,  and  his  Rerum  Italicarum  Scrip- 
tores  prcecipui ;  ab  anno  cera  Christ.  D.  ad  M.  D.,  in 
twenty-eight  folio  volumes,  published  in  1723—51, 
contain  a  vast  amount  of  authoritative  information  on 
the  manners,  religion  and  government  of  Italy  during 
the  middle  ages,  which  is  of  the  most  important 
service  to  the  student  of  Italian  history,  and  has 
furnished  later  authors,  including  Gibbon,  with 
much  material.  The  Annali  d  ''Italia,  in  the  present 
collection  was  originally  published  at  Milan  in  1744 
-49,  in  twelve  quarto  volumes,  and  brought  the  sub 
ject  down  to  the  date  of  the  publication  of  the  last 
volume.  Several  editions  of  this  work  have  since 
been  issued  with  a  continuation.  The  Florentine 
catalogues  contain  a  list  of  the  works  of  this  author, 
which  number  no  less  than  forty-three  volumes. 
There  are  few  writers  who  were  more  esteemed  in 
his  own  day,  or  whose  works  are  in  higher  repute 
among  scholars  and  antiquarians  at  the  present  than 
Muratori. 

There   is   a    copy   of   the    curious    old   folio    on 
Philosophical  language,  by  Bishop  Wilkins  ;  Spede- 


268  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

leri's  Confutazione  de  Gibbon,  which  is  the  best  reply 
to  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  chapters  of  Gibbon's 
work  ever  written ;  an  excellent  copy  of  the  Museo 
Pio  Clementina;  the  Bibliotlieca  Sacra,  by  Le 
Long,  of  the  congregation  of  the  Oratory  of  Paris, 
published  in  1723,  in  2  vols.  folio;  and  the  Biblio- 
tlieque  Curieuse  Pittoresque  et  Critique,  by  David 
Clement.  These  two  last  works  are  both  curious 
and  interesting,  and  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every 
•  accomplished  librarian.  Clement  unfortunately  died 
before  bringing  the  work  to  a  close.  The  catalogue, 
which  is  arranged  alphabetically,  avoiding  the  names 
of  those  authors  whose  works  are  brought  under 
review,  terminates  with  the  letter  H,  and  has  already 
reached  nine  quarto  volumes.  With  the  immense 
erudition  and  knowledge  of  books  which  this  writer 
possessed,  his  work  would  have  been  the  first  of  its 
kind,  had  he  lived  to  complete  it. 

There  is  a  very  complete  collection  of  sermons, 
including  the  Orateurs  Chretiens,  22  vols.  ;  Oratori 
Sacri  Italiani,  24  vols.  j  Predicateurs  Bibliotli.  Ec- 
cles.,  15  vols. ;  and  most  of  the  collections  of  the 
eminent  French  orators,  as  Bourdaloue,  Fenelon,  Le- 
jeune,  Bossuet,  Massillon,  and  Flechier,  whose  fu 
neral  oration  on  Marshal  Turenne  is  one  of  the  most 
finished  and  elegant  productions  in  the  whole  range 
of  pulpit  oratory. 


RICHARD  M.  HUNT'S  LIBRARY. 


Tins  library  contains  between  three  and  four 
thousand  volumes,  and  was  chiefly  collected  in  Paris 
during  the  residence  of  its  owner  in  that  city.  The 
works  are  for  the  most  part  in  French,  although  the 
library  contains  some  excellent  ones  in  Italian,  Span 
ish,  German,  and  other  modern  languages. 

Its  chief  merit,  however,  consists  in  its  valuable 
series  of  works  pertaining  to  architecture,  of  which 
the  larger  part  of  the  collection  consists,  numbering 
not  far  from  two  thousand  volumes.  The  chief  aim 
of  the  possessor  in  the  formation  of  the  library  was 
to  surround  himself  with  as  complete  a  set  of  works 
relating  to  architecture  as  it  was  in  his  power  to 
possess,  in  the  prosecution,  of  which  object  he  did 
not  confine  himself  to  mere  treatises  on  architecture, 
but  embraced  those  subjects  incidentally  connected 
with  it,  such  as  painting,  sculpture,  interior  decora 
tions,  and  the  ornamental  and  useful  arts  of  different 
epochs. 

Among  the  works  incidentally  pertaining  to  arch- 


270  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

itecture,  are  those  of  Batissier,  Cousin,  Le  Noir,  Du- 
rand,  De  Caumont,  Winckelmann,  and  many  others  of 
like  value.  In  this  department  is  EHistoire  de  I"1  Art 
par  les  Monumens,  depuis  sa  Decadence  an  quatrieme 
Siecle,  jusqda  son  Kenouvellement  au  -seizieme,  by 
D'Agincourt,  published  at  Paris  in  1823,  in  six  folio 
volumes.  This  work  is  enriched  by  upward  of  four 
teen  hundred  specimens  of  painting,  sculpture,  and 
architecture,  taken  from  the  monuments  and  paintings 
"which  they  describe.  It  was  translated  into  Italian 
under  the  title  of  Storia  deW  Art  dimonstrata  co1 
monument^  et  cet.,  published  in  1826-30.  There  is 
also  the  superb  work  of  Du  Sommerard,  entitled 
Les  Arts  au  Moyen  Age,  in  six  large  folio  volumes 
of  plates,  accompanied  by  five  octavo  volumes  of 
text.  The  author  was  a  gentleman  of  fortune  and  a 
distinguished  antiquarian,  who  purchased  the  Hotel 
de  Cluny,  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  Roman 
baths,  and  one  of  the  most  curious  monuments  of 
that  age  extant  in  Paris.  He  gathered  about  him 
the  most  complete  collection  of  civil,  military,  and 
religious  objects  of  art  of  the  middle  ages  extant, 
which  he  arranged  with  great  care  in  chronological 
order.  This  collection  was  purchased  of  the  heirs  of 
this  distinguished  archaeologist  shortly  after  his 
decease,  by  the  French  government,  for  200,000 
francs,  and  the  hotel  itself  for  300,000  francs,  and  is 


MR.    HUNT'S    COLLECTION. 


now,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  son  of  its 
former  possessor,  thrown  open  to  the  public.  Few 
Americans  who  have  been  in  Paris  of  late  years  have 
failed  to  visit  this  remarkable  specimen  of  the  re 
mains  of  the  venerable  mansions  of  Paris  of  the  six 
teenth  century,  or  to  admire  the  singular  curiosities 
which  each  apartment  opens  to  their  view. 

One  of  the  volumes  in  this  collection  is  chiefly 
devoted  to  a  description  of  the  works  of  art  in  the 
Museum  de  THotel  de  Cluny.  Vivenel,  architect  of 
the  new  portions  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  under  Louis 
Philippe,  and  the  possessor  of  one  of  the  finest  libra 
ries  on  art  in  France,  says  of  it :  "  Get  ouvrage  publie 
avec  un  grand  luxe,  et  une  grande  magnificence,  est 
un  monument  eleve  aux  beaux-arts  et  a  fliistoire  ;  on 
y  trouve  peinte  en  or,  et  en  coideur  avec  le  plus  grand 
soin,  tout  ce  qui  constitue  IJiistoire  de  fart  au  moyen 
age,  monumens,  sculpture,  peinture,  vitraux,  emaux, 
faiences,  meubles,  armoiries,  orfevrerie,  miniatures, 
manuscrits,  etc" 

A  similar  work  to  the  one  just  noticed,  although 
less  comprehensive,  is  Le  Moyen  -Age  et  la  jRenais- 
sance,  produced  under  the  artistic  direction  of  Fer 
dinand  Sere,  in  five  quarto  volumes,  and  contributed 
to  by  Paul  Lacroix,  Henry  Martin,  Lassus,  Merimee, 
Breton,  Duchesne,  and  other  eminent  French  writers 
upon  art  and  its  monuments. 


272  LIBKAKIES    OF   NEW    YORK. 

In  this  portion  of  the  library  is  Montfaucon's 
E  Antiquite  Expliquee  et  Represente  en  Figures, 
illustrated  by  a  vast  number  of  elegant,  accurate,  and 
expensive  engravings,  delineating  about  40,000  dif 
ferent  specimens  of  antiquity;  and  his  still  more 
rare  and  valuable  work,  entitled  Les  Monumens  de 
la  Monarchie  Frangoise,  avec  les  Figures  de  cliaque 
regne  que  ^injure  du  temps  a  epargnees,  published 
at  Paris  in  1729-33,  which  includes  all  classes  of 
subjects,  and  gives  a  fair  representation  of  the  modes 
and  manners  prevalent  among  the  civil,  ecclesiastical, 
and  military  orders.* 

The  author  of  these  works  was  a  Benedictine  of  the 
congregation  of  St.  Maur,  and  one  of  the  most  able 
and  learned  archaeologists  of  his  age.  During  a  long 
life  he  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  the  learned  men  of  his 
time,  and  no  one  was  more  eagerly  courted  than  this 
simple  Benedictine,  who,  while  captivating  those 
who  sought  his  society  by  his  fund  of  learning  and 
logical  powers  of  thought,  never  failed  to  charm 
them  by  the  great  humility  and  simplicity  of  his 
manners.  His  death  occurred  at  the  Abbey  of  St. 
Germain  des  Pres,  in  December,  1714,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-seven  years. 

There  is  also  Willemin's  Monumens  Frangais  In- 

*  Mr.  Burton's  collection  also  contains  these  valuable  works. 


MK.  HUNT'S    COLLECTION. 


edits.  T^his  work  gives  a  complete  history  of  art 
in  France  from  the  Vltli  to  the  XVIIth  centuries, 
and  is  elegantly  illustrated  by  engravings  of  the 
civil  and  military  costumes,  arms,  musical  instru 
ments,  different  kinds  of  furniture,  and  interior  and 
exterior  decorations  of  houses,  in  use  at  different 
times  within  the  period  above  specified.  The  copy 
of  this  work  in  the  present  collection  contains  very 
perfect  proofs  of  the  engravings  before  letters;  for 
the  most  part  richly  colored,  and  finished  with  gold 
devices,  after  the  manner  of  the  manuscripts.  Also, 
the  complete  works  of  Quatremere  cle  Quincy, 
including  his  rare  volume,  entitled  Le  Jupiter 
Olympien,  published  at  Paris  in  1815,  embracing  an 
account  of  the  art  of  sculpture  among  the  ancients, 
considered  in  a  novel  point  of  view.  This  work, 
which  contains  a  history  of  statuary  in  ivory  and 
gold  as  it  existed  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
with  the  restitution  of  the  chief  monuments  of  this 
art,  is  the  highest  authority  in  this  particular  de 
partment  of  the  fine  arts. 

The  collection  is  particularly  rich  in  works 
on  the  architecture  of  different  nations,  among 
which  are  those  of  Davis  and  Chambers  on  the 
Architecture  of  the  Chinese;  Langles  on  the  Ar 
chitecture  of  Hindostan;  Description  de  TEgypte; 
Horeau's  Egypt  ;  Caste's  Architecture  Arabe  ;  Gi- 


274  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

rault  de  Prangey's  Monuments  Arabes  et  Moresques 
Cordoue,  Seville  et  Grenade  ;  Egllses  Byzantines  en 
Grece,  by  Coucliaud ;  Etruscan  Antiquities  and  the 
Antiquities  of  Herculaneum ;    Gell  and  Gandy  on 
Pompeii ;    Bouchet's   Antique    Compositions ;     and 
the  House  of  the  Tragic  Poet  in  Pompeii,  beauti 
fully  colored,  giving  a  representation  of  this  curious 
edifice,  as  it  was  supposed  to  exist  at  the  burial  of 
this  devoted  city.     Stuart  and  Kevett's  Antiquities 
of  Athens ;   and  Blouet's  Expedition  to  the  Morea. 
The  author  of  the  latter  work  was  charged  by  the 
French  government  with  the  command  of  the  Mo- 
rean  expedition,  of  which  the  elegant  work  in  the 
collection,  executed  in  the  best  style  of  art,  is  the 
result.     At  a  later  period,  Blouet  was  sent   by  the 
government  to  inspect  the  penitentiary  system  of 
this  country,  and  for  this  purpose  visited  the  United 
States.     Upon  his  return  to  France,  at  his  recom 
mendation,  it  was  adopted   in  that  kingdom,   and 
several  large  establishments  were  built  to  test  its 
value.     He  died  at  Paris  a  few  years  since.     At  the 
time  of  his  decease  he  was  a  member  of  the  French 
Institute  and  government  architect  to  Fontainbleau. 
It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  mention  that,  for 
the  last  three  centuries,  it  has  been  the  custom  of 
the  French  government  to  employ  a  distinguished 
architect  for   each  public  building  in  the   empire, 


ME.  HUNT'S  COLLECTION.  275 

whose  functions  continue  after  the  building  is 
erected,  and  who  is  charged  with  each  alteration, 
however  trivial  and  insignificant.  By  this  means 
the  unity  of  design  which  so  eminently  characterizes 
the  comparatively  modern  specimens  of  French  ar 
chitecture  has  been  preserved,  in  contradistinction 
to  some  of  the  more  ancient  piles,  whose  features  are 
too  frequently  marred  by  incongruous  styles. 

Among  the  more  notable  works  in  the  collection 
relating  to  Roman  art,  are  the  "  Roman  Forum,"  by 
Caristie;  Ciacconius's  Colonna  Trajani ;  the  Baths 
of  Titus ;  Vasi's  Ancient  and  Modern  Rome ;  Ca- 
nina's  Ancient  Rome ;  and  Piranesi's  complete  works 
upon  the  architecture  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome, 
with  Italian  text,  in  twenty-six  folio  volumes.  This 
author,  who  was  an  engraver  as  well  as  an  architect, 
executed  a  series  of  works  whose  number  almost  ex 
ceeds  belief.  The  earliest,  which  consist  of  designs 
invented  by  him,  exhibit  a  genius  which  is  alto 
gether  peculiar  to  himself,  and  one  strongly  charac 
terized  by  his  own  florid  imagination.  The  entire 
series,  as  it  is  to  be  seen  in  the  present  collection, 
is  one  of  the  most  magnificent  works  on  architec 
ture  extant.  It  contains  the  tombs  of  the  Scipios, 
the  magnificent  Pantheon  of  ancient  Rome,  speci 
mens  of  Etruscan  architecture,  ruins  of  Psestum, 
ancient  statues,  the  theatres  of  Herculaneum,  and 


276  LIBEAEIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

all  the  chief  edifices  and  great  monuments  of  the 
Eternal  City. 

The  works  relating  to  Italian  architecture  em 
brace,  among  others,  Letarouilly's  Modern  Rome ; 
Gauthier's  Edifices  of  Genoa;  Cicognara's  Venice; 
Hittorff  s  Architecture  of  Modern  Sicily ;  Famin  and 
Grandjean's  Tuscan  Architecture;  Palaces  of  Genoa, 
by  Peter  Paul  Rubens,  the  eminent  painter;  and 
Marieschi's  Views  of  Venice.  Among  the  curiosi- 
'ties  of  this  collection  is  a  volume  of  the  Views  of 
Bologna,  purchased  at  the  sale  of  Callet,  a  distin 
guished  French  architect,  and  the  author  of  the 
Lives  of  Architects  of  the  XVIth  Century.  His 
collection  was  one  of  the  rarest  in  France,  and  drew 
the  lovers  of  virtu  from  all  parts  to  the  sale  which 
occurred  at  his  decease.  Among  the  objects  of  value 
in  his  possession,  was  the  most  complete  collection 
of  Du  Cerceau's  works,  among  which  were  two 
quarto  manuscript  parchment  volumes  of  his  orig 
inal  drawings  of  the  monuments  and  edifices  of 
France.  This  was  purchased  by  the  French  govern 
ment.  The  views  in  Bologna  in  this  collection  con 
tain  the  original  drawings  made  by  Callet  in  his 
excursion  through  Italy.  Many  of  the  drawings  are 
originals  of  portions  of  the  architectural  monuments 
exhibited  in  the  work,  on  a  scale  sufficiently  ex 
tended  to  serve  the  purposes  of  the  architect  in  fol- 


MR.  HUNT'S  COLLECTION.  277 

lowing  out  their  minutest  designs.  These  drawings 
were  evidently  executed  by  Callet  while  examining 
the  structures  they  portray. 

The  French  school  of  architecture  is  well  repre 
sented  by  the  works  of  Le  Clerc,  D' A  viler,  Le  Potre,  Le 
Muet,  Boillot,  Philbert  de  1'Orme,  Chambray,  Marot, 
Mariette,  Peyre,  Bullant,  Boffrand,  the  most  eminent 
authority  on  the  style  of  the  age  of  Louis  XV.,  Ron- 
delet,  whose  exquisite  workmanship  on  the  Pan 
theon  at  Paris  is  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all 
those  who  behold  it,  and  Blondel,  whose  works 
enjoy  a  reputation  unequalled  by  any  architect 
of  the  French  school.  The  copy  of  the  Architec 
ture  FranQaise,  by  this  author,  in  this  collection,  is 
the  one  presented  by  him  to  De  Vandieres,  the 
director-in-chief  of  buildings,  arts,  academies  and 
manufactures,  under  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  to 
whom  the  volume  was  dedicated,  and  is  beautifully 
bound  in  red  morocco.  Among  the  more  modern 
treatises  are  those  of  Weale,  Marl,  Gailhaband, 
Daly,  Shaw,  Potter  and  Pugin. 

The  collection  contains  a  large  number  of  works 
of  travels  illustrative  of  art,  and  especially  those 
which  display  the  architecture  of  the  countries 
described,  many  of  which  are  executed  with  a 
lavishness  of  expenditure  which  is  almost  incredi 
ble.  Among  these  are  Travels  in  Syria,  Palestine 


278  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

and  Judea,  by  the  Baron  Taylor  and  Keybaud; 
Spain,  Artistic  and  Monumental,  by  Perez  de  Villa- 
Amil;  Ancient  and  Modern  Sweden,  France  and 
Spain,  by  A.  de  Laborde ;  and  the  remarkable  Voy 
ages  Pittoresqiies  et  Homantiques  dans  TAncienne 
France,  by  Taylor,  Nodier  and  Cailleux. 

The  following  manuscripts  are  worthy  of  note :  A 
folio  volume  of  poems  by  Bussy  de  Rabutin,  whose 
genuineness  is  attested  to  by  the  librarian  of  "  Bibli- 
btheque  Roy  ale;"  ten  exquisitely  written  volumes 
on  history  and  jurisprudence,  by  De  Jacquemont, 
member  of  the  Institute;  one  volume  of  Italian 
blazonry,  two  volumes  of  a  collection  of  artistic 
Etruscan  vases,  and  two  folio  volumes  of  travels  in 
France  and  Italy,  by  Honore  and  Isabelle.  This 
latter  writer  published  a  celebrated  work,  entitled 
Les  Edifices  Circidaires,  et  les  Domes,  including  the 
Church  of  St.  Maria  des  Fleurs  of  Florence,  Eglise 
St.  Genevieve  of  Paris,  and  the  Pantheon  and  St. 
Peter's  at  Rome,  which  work  is  in  the  collection. 

There  are  in  the  library  about  five  thousand  pho 
tograph  views  of  celebrated  monuments  and  edi 
fices.  These  are  of  great  value  in  completing  an 
architectural  library,  because  they  give  a  perspec 
tive  view  of  the  objects  delineated ;  whereas,  works 
on  architecture  are  for  the  most  part  geometrical 
designs,  intended  rather  to  work  after  than  to  ex- 


MR.  HUNT'S  COLLECTION. 


liibit  the  effect.  Many  of  these  are  representations 
of  the  Louvre  in  Paris.  The  recent  improvements 
upon  this  splendid  structure  were  executed  by  Le 
Fuel,  architect  to  the  Emperor.  The  possessor  of 
this  collection  was  a  pupil  of  this  distinguished 
architect,  and  was  assigned  by  him  to  execute  the 
Pavilion  of  La  Sibliotheque  Imperials  du  Louvre, 
opposite  the  Palais  Royale,  in  the  Rue  de  Rivoli  ; 
and  under  his  auspices  made  the  designs  and  work 
ing  drawings  of  this  beautiful  structure. 

This  collection  contains  many  interesting  relics  of 
Egyptian,  Roman,  and  Grecian  Antiquity,  and  is 
particularly  rich  in  specimens  of  more  modern  art 
illustrative  of  different  epochs,  among  which  are 
many  articles  of  household  furniture,  as  curious 
clocks  of  different  ages,  and  articles  of  domestic  use, 
as  well  as  many  rare  ornaments  taken  from  venerable 
edifices  as  they  existed  in  the  middle  ages.  There 
are  a  large  number  of  specimens  of  windows  of 
stained  glass  arrayed  in  this  era,  and  numerous 
church  ornaments  and  altar-pieces,  some  of  which 
are  of  exquisite  workmanship.  Among  these  latter 
are  the  doors  and  frontispiece  of  a  tabernacle  in  solid 
silver,  and  an  elaborately  bound  missal,  garnished 
w^ith  massive  silver  designs,  taken  from  an  old  Ca 
thedral  in  Holland,  which  are  especially  worthy  of 
notice. 


•280  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

There  are  a  number  of  panels  and  mouldings  of 
rich  devices,  taken  from  old  structures  when  in  the 
process  of  demolition,  and  an  excellent  collection  of 
paintings  upon  panels  which  were  saved  from  de 
struction  in  a  similar  manner,  some  of  which  are 
possessed  of  considerable  merit. 


JUDGE  KENT'S  LIBRARY. 


THE  library  of  Judge  Kent  contains  about 
twelve  thousand  volumes,  most  of  which  were  col 
lected  by  his  father.  As  might  be  expected  in  the 
library  of  Chancellor  Kent,  the  most  perfect,  though 
not  the  most  numerous  part,  is  composed  of  books 
relating  to  Jurisprudence.  It  is,  indeed,  a  very 
complete  law  library,  though  not  containing  many 
books  of  peculiar  antiquity  or  rareness. 

In  the  department  of  the  Civil  Law,  which  the 
Chancellor  was  among  the  earliest  of  American  law 
yers  to  resort  to,  it  has,  besides  the  text  of  the  Cor 
pus  Juris  Cimlis  (in  a  curious  old  edition),  several 
editions  of  the  Pandects;  the  works  of  Voet,  Gra- 
vina,  Gothopeclus,  Pothier  (his  favorite  author),  who 
was  particularly  attached  to  the  study  of  the  Roman 
law,  and  published  in  1784,  in  3  vols.  folio,  an 
edition  of  Justinian's  Pandects,  which  gave  him  such 
reputation  that  Chancellor  D'Aguesseau  bestowed 
upon  him  the  professorship  of  French  law  at  Orleans, 

without  solicitation;  and  a  numerous  collection  of 
36 


282  LIBKAEIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

the  writings  of  the  Continental  lawyers  on  various 
topics  of  maritime  and  commercial  law,  such  as 
Valin  Emerignon,  Merlin,  Pardessus,  and  others. 

In  the  Common  Law,  it  is,  of  course,  more  abun 
dant,  including  all  the  old  English  authors,  from 
Bracton  to  Lord  Coke. 

Bracton  is  deservedly  looked  upon  as  the  foun 
tain-head  of  English  law,  and  is  the  chief  source 
from  which  the  writers  who  followed  him,  to  as  late 
a  period  as  Lord  Coke,  drew  their  information.  He 
lived  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  rose  to  great 
eminence  at  the  bar.  His  chief  reputation,  however, 
rests  upon  his  great  work — De  Legibus  et  consue- 
tudinibus  Anglice,  first  printed  in  folio  in  1569. 
It  is  a  finished  and  systematic  performance,  giving 
a  complete  view  of  the  lav/  in  all  its  titles,  as  it 
stood  at  the  time  it  was  written.  It  abounds  in 
curious  and  accurate  details  of  legal  learning,  so  that 
the  reader  never  fails  to  derive  instruction  and 
amusement  from  this  scientific  treatise  upon  ancient 
laws  and  customs.  The  style  is  much  in  advance  of 
the  writers  of  his  day,  and  exhibits  a  thorough  ac 
quaintance  with  the  writings  of  the  Roman  lawyers 
and  canonists,  from  whom  he  derived  other  advan 
tages  than  those  of  mere  composition.  Many  of  the 
pithy  sentences  adopted  as  maxims  in  the  English 
law,  and  derived  from  Bracton,  are  to  be  found  in 


JUDGE  KENT'S  COLLECTION.  283 

the  works  of  the  authors  on  Roman  Jurisprudence. 
The  value  set  upon  this  work  is  evinced  by  the 
treatises  of  Briton  and  Fleta,  which  are  nothing  more 
than  appendages  to  it ;  the  latter  being  intended  as  a 
mere  epitome  of  this  author.  Great  pains  have  been 
taken  to  collect  the  various  manuscripts  of  this  work, 
one  of  the  most  authentic  of  which  was  consumed 
in  the  conflagration  that  destroyed  a  part  of  the 
Colton  library,  October  23d,  1731. 

Perhaps  the  most  curious  among  the  old  writings 
in  the  collection  is  a  copy  of  the  Grand  Costumier 
du  Normandie,  now  a  rare  work,  containing  the 
usages  and  feudal  customs  of  that  country  at  the 
period  of  its  separation  from  the  English  crown. 
There  is  also  a  complete  series  of  the  English  reports 
from  the  year-books  down  to  the  present  day ;  and 
scarcely  any  treatise  on  a  branch  or  point  of  the 
common  law,  is  absent  from  the  collection.  The 
works  of  American  writers,  and  the  reports  of  Amer 
ican  courts,  are  very  numerous;  and  the  jurispru 
dence  of  the  state  of  New  York  is  illustrated  in 
every  statute,  decision,  and  elementary  treatise  that 
has  appeared. 

To  a  lawyer,  the  Chancellor's  written  remarks  on 
his  books,  are  perhaps  their  most  interesting  feature. 
He  studied  pen  in  hand,  and  all  of  his  books  contain 
his  annotations,  and  some  are  literary  curiosities. 


284  LIBEAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

His  edition  of  Blackstone's  Commentaries  is  the  first 
American  edition,  printed  in  Philadelphia  in  17 ti 
lt  is  creditable  to  the  press  of  that  time,  and  is  over 
laid  with  annotations,  showing  how  diligently  the 
future  American  commentator  studied  the  elegant 
work  of  his  English  predecessor.  The  general  reader 
will  find  still  more  interest  in  the  earlier  judicial 
reports  of  the  state  of  New  York,  printed  while  he 
was  on  the  bench.  He  will  find  not  merely  legal 
notes,  but  biographical  memoranda  of  many  of  the 
distinguished  judges  and  lawyers  who  lived  at  the 
commencement  of  the  century,  and  built  up  the 
present  system  of  laws. 

In  proceeding  from  the  legal  to  the  miscellaneous 
part  of  the  library,  the  visitor's  attention  will,  per 
haps,  be  attracted  by  an  extensive  and  curious  col 
lection  of  the  records  of  criminal  law.  Not  merely 
the  English  state  trials  and  the  French  causes  celebres 
are  there,  but  the  criminal  trials  of  Scotland  and  of 
America,  and  detached  publications  of  remarkable 
cases,  Newgate  Calendars,  Malefactors'  Kegister, 
Chronicles  of  Crime,  with  ghastly  prints  of  Newgate 
and  Old  Bailey,  with  their  executions.  The  Chan 
cellor  is  not  responsible  for  this  part  of  the  library, 
which  owes  its  completeness  to  the  morbid  taste  of 
his  successor,  who  defends  the  collection  as  best 
illustrating  the  popular  morals  and  manners  of  every 


JUDGE  KENT'S  COLLECTION.  285 

period,  and  contends  that  fiction  yields  in  interest  to 
the  gloomy  dramas  of  real  life. 

Emerging  from  this  singular  alcove,  the  visitor 
finds  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  large  collection  of 
miscellaneous  books — histories,  biographies,  maga 
zines,  reviews,  romances,  and  especially  travels  and 
works  on  geography.  One  of  the  most  valuable 
portions  of  these  works  is  a  collection  of  pamphlets, 
commencing  about  1^790  and  coming  down  to  the 
present  day.  The  ease  with  which  such  a  collection 
is  made,  and  the  interest  and  utility  of  it  when 
made,  should  recommend  to  every  one  its  imita 
tion.  These  works  are  scarcely  ever  republished; 
and,  while  they  often  possess  literary  excellence,  as 
a  contemporaneous  record  of  the  controversies,  topics 
of  conversation,  and  even  follies  of  the  day,  are 
illustrative  of  the  manners  of  the  time,  and  afford 
materials  for  the  philosophical  historian.  The  Chan 
cellor's  collection  of  pamphlets  exceeds  two  hundred 
volumes. 

Among  the  essayists,  a  copy  of  The  Federalist 
deserves  notice.  It  was  printed  immediately  after 
the  publication  of  the  essays,  and  is  of  the  humblest 
typographical  pretensions,  but  is  enriched  with  notes, 
and  among  them  a  memorandum,  taken  from  the 
life  of  Hamilton  by  himself,  which  differs  in  some 
respects  in  its  mention  of  the  names  of  the  respective 


286  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

writers  of  the  essays.  In  periodical  literature  the 
library  is  rich.  It  has  the  English  Annual  Register 
and  Monthly  Magazine  from  their  commencement, 
and  all  the  modern  magazines  and  reviews.  Its 
strong  point  (after  its  law  collections),  is  its  geo 
graphical  department,  including,  besides  the  regular 
geographies,  a  very  large  number  of  voyages  and 
travels,  in  which  its  collector  delighted,  and  in  the 
pages  of  which  are  to  be  found  quite  a  number 
of  amusing  maps  and  plans,  the  work  of  the  Chan 
cellor's  pen. 

It  is  well  stocked  with  classical  books,  with  the 
works  of  the  most  eminent  French  authors,  and  has 
a  very  rich  and  extensive  collection  of  histories  and 
biographies.  It  is  impossible  for  a  visitor  of  this 
interesting  library  to  look  over  its  multifarious  col 
lections  without  associating  it  with  the  great  work 
of  the  commentator  on  American  law.  He  sees  in 
all  the  books  marks  of  the  incessant  study  of  the 
great  lawyer,  through  the  protracted  years  of  his 
honored  and  useful  life :  "  Nulla  dies  sine  lineal 
The  jurist  and  student  know  the  Commentaries  to 
be  a  vast  treasury,  not  merely  of  legal,  but  of  histor 
ical  lore.  In  this  library  they  perceive  the  process 
by  which  a  great  work  on  an  important  theme  was 
fabricated. 


D.  N.  LORD'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  collection,  which  contains  about  five  thousand 
volumes,  derives  its  chief  interest  from  its  numerous 
writings  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  fathers,  the  Reform 
ers,  ancient  and  modern  ecclesiastical  historians,  and 
other  works  that  treat  of  the  government,  doctrines, 
rites  and  usages  of  the  Christian  church,  and  its  re 
lation  to  civil  governments.  It  boasts  a  sufficient 
number  of  standard  authorities  to  furnish  the  means 
of  tracing  the  history  of  Christianity,  and  the  various 
errors  and  superstitions  that  have  been  engrafted 
upon  it,  from  the  age  of  the  Apostles  to  the  present 
time. 

There  are  several  editions  of  the  Patres  Apostolici, 
and  among  them  that  of  Ittigius,  which,  besides  the 
interpolated  epistles  of  Clement,  Ignatius,  and  Poly- 
carp,  embraces  those  positively  known  to  be  spurious. 
Among  the  early  Greek  theological  writers  are  some 
which  are  devoted  to  an  explanation  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  church,  and  others  to  the  development  of  those 
new  forms  of  doctrine  which  agitated  its  breast  in 


288  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

the  earliest  ages  of  Christianity,  and  often  seemed  to 
threaten  its  very  existence.  Of  the  former  of  these 
are  St.  Justin  Martyr,  St.  Clement  Alexandrinus,  and 
of  the  latter  Tatian,  formerly  a  fervent  disciple  of 
St.  Justin's,  but  after  the  martyrdom  of  his  precep 
tor,  the  leader  of  a  schismatic  sect  which  gained 
considerable  repute,  especially  in  the  East,  under  the 
appellation  of  Encratites,  and  Origen,  the  leader  of  a 
very  numerous  offshoot  from  the  mother  church. 

Origen  was  a  man  of  commanding  genius,  and 
like  Augustine  and  Erasmus  in  theology,  and 
Aristotle,  Plato,  Copernicus,  and  Bacon  in  philos 
ophy,  was  not  only  in  advance  of  his  own  age, 
but  continued  to  exercise  an  important  influence 
upon  those  which  succeeded.  It  appears,  unfortu 
nately,  that  from  a  "  fro  ward  conceit  of  his  talents, 
he  early  became  deeply  infected  with  that  * furor 
allegoricus]  as  a  learned  modern  calls  it — that  rage 
of  expounding  the  Scripture  allegorically,  which 
grew  afterward  to  be  a  distemper,  and  carried  him 
to  excesses  which  can  never  be  excused. 

That  a  monk  of  Alexandria,  of  humble  origin  and 
rank,  should  have  exercised  such  a  sway  over  that 
portion  of  the  church  which  listened  to  his  teachings, 
as  to  seduce  them,  by  a  false  method  of  interpreting 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  into  a  faith  which  was  even 
more  than  tinged  with  heathenish  associations  and 


ME.  LORD'S  COLLECTION.  289 

superstitions,  is  one  of  the  most  striking  facts  of 
history.  His  influence  for  a  number  of  ages  was 
immense.  The  secret  of  it  doubtless  lay  in  part  in 
his  highly  gifted  and  fervid  genius,  united  in  an 
extreme  degree  to  a  power  of  abstruse  and  far- 
reaching  speculation;  and  in  part,  in  an  easy,  grace 
ful,  and  flowing  style  of  thought  and  language, 
which  was  not  only  attractive,  but  easily  compre 
hended  by  ordinary  minds.  These  faculties  were 
brought  to  bear  with  great  effect  upon  his  laborious 
and  critical  labors  on  the  Scriptures,  into  which  he 
infused  his  own  especial  views  of  theology,  which 
embraced  the  leading  elements  of  the  Neo-Platonic 
philosophy,  much  in  vogue  in  his  day. 

How  vast  a  sway  this  system,  which  had  the  charm 
of  mystery  entwined  with  it,  had,  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  nearly  one  thousand  years  after  the  time  when 
Origen  flourished,  that  distinguished  Doctor  of  The 
ology,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  the  greatest  genius  of 
the  middle  ages,  found  it  necessary  to  treat  of  this 
doctrine  of  mysticism,  in  his  celebrated  Summa  The- 
ologicB,  and  devoted  his  Opuscula  to  the  refutation 
of  this  and  other  Greek  schisms.  The  edition  of 
Origen  in  this  collection  is  the  fine  one  of  Delarue. 

Of  the  Greek  fathers,  contemporary  with,  or  sub 
sequent  to  the  legalization  of  the  church  under  Con- 
stantine,  are  St.  Athanasius,  St.  Basil,  St.  Cyril  of 


290  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Jerusalem,  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  St.  Isidore  of 
Pelusium,  Theodoret,  Epiphanius,  and  St.  Chrysostom. 
Besides  which  are  the  works  of  Synesius,  Macarius, 
the  false  Dionysius  Areopagita,  and  Johannes  Da- 
mascenus. 

St.  Athanasius  was  born  in  Alexandria,  in  the  IVth 
century,  at  the  time  when  it  was  the  centre  of  learn 
ing,  and  was  afterward  bishop  of  that  flourishing  and 
polished  city.  When  quite  young  he  attended  the 
Council  of  Nice,  and  there  distinguished  himself  as  an 
able  and  zealous  opponent  of  the  Arians,  who  taught 
that  the  Son  of  God,  although  the  most  exalted 
being  ever  created  by  the  Godhead,  was  yet,  in  sub 
stance  and  essence,  inferior  to  God  the  Father ;  a 
doctrine  which  has  had  many  advocates,  and  fur 
nishes  the  basis  for  the  theology  of  a  considerable 
religious  sect  at  the  present  day. 

Arius,  and  many  of  his  followers,  renounced  their 
opinions,  and  subscribed  to  the  Nicene  creed,  and 
by  this  means  were  restored  to  favor  with  Constan- 
tine,  who  urged  upon  Athanasius  the  propriety  of 
receiving  him  again  into  communion ;  but  whether 
doubtful  of  the  sincerity  of  the  professions  of  Arius, 
or  from  some  other  cause,  he  steadily  refused  the 
request  of  the  Emperor,  and  fell  into  so  much  dis 
favor  with  him  as  to  be  exiled  to  France,  from 
whence  he  was  recalled  by  his  successor  upon  the 


MR,  LORD'S  COLLECTION.  291 

death   of  the   Emperor,  and  was   received   by  his 
people  with  great  manifestations  of  joy. 

Athanasius  was  a  clear,  exact,  and  elegant  writer, 
and  exercised  a  great  influence  over  his  own  and 
succeeding  ages,  the  chief  source  of  which  is  doubt 
less  derived  from  his  able  refutations  of  the  doc 
trines  of  Arius,  a  theme  which  his  great  grasp  of 
intellect,  and  subtlety  of  thought,  eminently  fitted 
him  to  take  a  leading  part  in.  In  this  discus 
sion,  characterized  by  an  immense  amount  of  hair 
splitting  discriminations  and  wonderfully  sophisti 
cated  reasoning,  and  which  presented  a  more  impos 
ing  display  of  the  acuteness,  refinement  and  grasp  of 
the  Greek  and  Oriental  intellect  than  any  other  that 
the  world  has  ever  beheld,  Athanasius  assumed  the 
foremost  rank,  and  is  universally  conceded  to  have 
been  fully  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  his  subtle  and 
wily  opponents. 

Nor  was  St.  Basil,  Bishop  of  Csesarea — often  called 
the  Great  on  account  of  his  learning  and  piety — less 
zealous  than  Athanasius  in  his  opposition  to  the 
views  of  Arius.  There  have  been  a  number  of  edi 
tions  of  the  works  of  St.  Basil  published,  but  the 
best  is  that  printed  in  Greek  and  Latin,  by  the 
society  of  the  Benedictines,  of  the  congregation  of 
St.  Matir,  superintended  by  Gamier  and  Maran,  two 
learned  members  of  the  Benedictine  order. 


292  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

The  works  of  the  Latins  include  those  of  Tertul- 
lian,  St.  Cyprian,  St.  Optatus,  St.  Hilary,  St.  Am 
brose,  St.  Jerome,  St.  Augustine,  Damascenus,  Vincent, 
Fulgentinus,  Cassian,  Cassiodorus,  Rabanus  Maurus, 
St.  Bernard,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  Nicholas  de  Lyra, 
Bradwardine,  and  Gregory  the  Great,  of  whose 
works  there  is  an  excellent  edition,  in  four  folio 
volumes.  This  distinguished  doctor  of  the  Church, 
w^ho  was  equally  celebrated  for  his  learning  and  his 
piety,  lived  in  the  Vlth  century,  and  succeeded  Pe- 
lagius  II.  in  the  Pontifical  chair,  to  which  he  was 
elevated  with  extreme  reluctance  on  his  part,  but 
whose  duties  he  discharged  with  great  zeal  and  con 
summate  ability. 

The  two  events  of  most  importance  during  the 
pontificate  of  Gregory  the  Great,  were  the  nationali 
zation  of  the  Church  by  the  first  establishment  of 
the  Ecclesiastical  power  in  the  See  of  Rome,  and  the 
conversion  of  the  English  nation  to  Christianity. 
So  much  had  Gregory  the  conversion  of  the  English 
at  heart,  that  while  a  simple  monk,  he  set  out  on  a 
journey  thither,  and  had  advanced  three  days  upon 
it,  when  he  was  recalled  by  the  Pope,  at  the  request 
of  the  people,  who  could  not  bear  to  be  separated 
from  him.  Upon  his  accession  to  the  pontificate,  he 
dispatched  a  monk  named  Augustine  as  his  mission 
ary.  He  was  not  only  received  with  great  kindness 


ME.  LORD'S  COLLECTION.  293 

by  King  Ethelbert,  through  the  influence  of  Queen 
Bertha,  but  admitted  that  monarch  in  a  short  time 
into  the  Church  as  a  distinguished  convert  to  the 
Christian  religion. 

The  world  is  indebted  to  Pope  Gregory  for  the 
invention  of  the  means  of  expressing  musical  sounds 
by  the  seven  first  letters  of  the  alphabet,  used  at 
this  day.  He  took  especial  care  to  reform  the  music 
of  the  Church  service,  and  composed,  arranged,  and 
constituted  the  Antiplionarmm  and  chants  used  in 
the  morning;  and  evening  service.  He  also  instituted 

O  o 

an  academy  of  music,  with  especial  reference  to  the 
improvement  of  Church  music,  in  which  he  gave 
lessons  himself.  The  bed  to  which  he  was  confined 
for  some  time  previous  to  his  decease,  and  around 
which  he  used  to  assemble  his  chanters,  as  well  as 
the  scourge  with  which  he  was  accustomed  to  chas 
tise  the  refractory  pupils,  were  preserved  with  great 
veneration  in  the  palace  of  St.  John  Lateran  for  a 
long  time. 

A  work  of  Rabanus  Maurus,  Abbot  of  Fulda,  justly 
called   Opus   Eruditions,    Versu   Prosaque,  Mirifi- 
cum,  in  prose  and  poetry,  is  one  of  strange  ingenu 
ity,  and  a  curious  specimen  of  the  taste  of  the  age— 
the  IXth  century — in  which  its  author  lived. 

There  are  two  copies  of  the  Summa  Theologice  of 
Thomas  Aquinas — one  in  its  original  form,  but  im- 


294  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

perfect,  with  the  commentaries  of  Cajeton ;  the 
other  a  compendium  of  the  System  of  Aquinas,  in 
the  form  of  Dissertations,  in  three  folio  volumes, 
arranged  for  the  use  of  students  of  divinity,  and 
published  in  1768.  The  reader  of  this  latter  work 
will  be  somewhat  amused  to  find  that,  in  discussing 
questions  concerning  the  Divine  existence,  the  cele 
brated  arguments  of  Descartes  and  Locke  are  mar 
shalled  by  the  compiler  under  the  banner  of  the 
Angelic  doctor  of  the  XHIth  century. 

The  copy  of  Nicholas  de  Lyra's  Exposition  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  Commentaries  on  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  is  an  excellent  one  in  black-letter,  and 
is  in  six  folio  volumes.  This  commentator,  who 
lived  in  the  XlVth  century,  had  a  considerable 
reputation  as  a  laborious  and  careful  expositor  of 
the  sacred  volume. 

In  addition  to  these  are  the  works  of  Arnobius, 
an  eminent  pagan  philosopher,  and  violent  persecu 
tor  of  Christians,  who,  like  St.  Paul,  distinguished 
his  conversion  to  the  Christian  faith  by  a  zeal  as 
ardent  as  his  former  persecutions  had  been  violent  ; 
and  of  his  pupil  and  disciple,  Lactantius,  frequently 
denominated  the  Christian  Tully.  Also  those  of 
Novatian,  who  was  likewise  a  pagan  philosopher  in 
early  life,  and  extremely  restive  in  the  new  faith  he 
had  espoused.  He  visited  Rome  at  the  time  of  the 


MR.  LOKD'S  COLLECTION.  295 

election  of  Pope  Cornelius,  and  opposed  it.  He 
managed  to  get  three  bishops  together  who  were  in 
fluenced  by  his  superior  logic,  and  by  them  was 
chosen  surreptitiously  Bishop  of  Rome,  a  title  never 
recognized  by  the  other  bishops.  He  sent  a  messen 
ger  to  St.  Cyril,  who  not  only  refused  to  receive 
his  commission,  but  pronounced  excommunication 
against  his  messenger.  His  writings  are  chiefly 
intended  to  show  that,  after  baptism,  great  sin  for 
ever  unfits  the  individual  for  reception  into  the 
Church. 

The  next  group  embraces  the  writings  of  ecclesi 
astical  historians,  of  which  there  are  among  the 
Greeks  the  works  of  Eusebius,  Socrates,  Sozomen, 
Theodoret,  Evagrius,  Philostorgius  and  Zosimus. 
Of  the  Latins,  those  of  Baronius,  with  Pagi,  N. 
Alexander,  and  Raynauld ;  and  of  the  Protestant 
writers,  those  of  the  Centuriators,  Mosheim,  Geiseler 
and  Neander. 

The  collection  of  works  auxiliary  to  those  of  the 
ecclesiastical  historians,  containing  the  civil  laws  to 
which  the  Church  has  been  subjected,  as  well  as  the 
legislative  acts  of  the  Church  itself,  its  jurispru 
dence  and  usages,  is  voluminous  and  highly  valua 
ble.  Among  these  are  the  Theodosian  Code,  in 
three  folio  volumes,  containing  the  decrees  of  the 

/  o 

Emperors  relative  to  the  Church;  the  Capitularies 


296  LIBR  ABIES    OF    NEW    YOBK. 

of  tlie  Kings  of  France,  legalizing  and  endowing  it, 
and  providing  for  the  enforcement  of  its  decrees ; 
and  the  Concilia,  by  Labbe,  in  thirty-one  folio 
volumes,  which  comprise  the  wrhole  series  of  coun 
cils,  supposititious  and  real,  from  the  days  of  the 
Apostles  to  the  Council  of  Basil,  in  1434.  In  this 
series  are  all  the  edicts  of  the  Emperors,  Kings  and 
Popes,  by  which  they  were  convened,  and  the  canons 
and  decrees  passed  by  them,  as  well  as  the  Epistles 
of  the  Popes,  from  Clemens,  A.  D.  91,  to  the  XHIth 
century,  and  a  vast  body  of  letters  addressed  to  the 
Popes  by  the  Bishops  and  other  dignitaries  of  the 
Church.  The  documents  of  the  later  councils,  espe 
cially,  and  the  records  of  their  discussions  and  acts, 
are  very  voluminous,  and  present  a  graphic  picture 
of  the  men  and  manners  of  the  times.  The  letters 
of  many  of  the  Popes  and  other  prelates  are  curious 
and  valuable,  and  indicate  talents  of  a  very  high 
order. 

The  Magnum  Bullarium  Romanum,  in  thirteen 
folio  volumes,  contains  the  decrees  and  bulls  of  the 
Popes,  from  Leo  the  Great,  A.  D.  440,  to  Benedict 
XIV.,  in  1757,  in  wrhich  doctrines  are  defined,  rites 
enjoined,  forms  prescribed,  monasteries,  abbeys,  and 
other  religious  organizations  instituted,  bishoprics 
established,  privileges  conferred,  interdicts  laid, 
saints  canonized,  prerogatives  asserted,  and  all  the 


MR.  LOKD'S  COLLECTION.  297 

various  functions  exercised  which  devolved  upon  the 
lawgivers  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

In  the  first  volume  of  the  Corpus  Juris  Canonici, 
are  the  authorities  collected  by  Gratian  ;  and  in  the 
second  the  Decretals  of  Gregory  IX.,  the  Clementines, 
the  Extravagants  of  John  XXII.,  and  the  Decrees  of 
the  Council  of  Trent.  Gratian  was  a  celebrated 
Benedictine  of  the  twelfth  century,  who  spent 
twenty  years  at  the  monastery  of  Bologna  in  com 
posing  his  celebrated  work,  entitled  Concordantia 
Discordantium  Ganonum.  This  work  not  only 
bestowed  great  reputation  upon  its  author,  but  was 
considered  of  such  high  authority  as  to  form  the 
superstructure  upon  which  all  precedents  were 
founded,  and  constitutes  one  of  the  chief  parts  of 
the  Canon  law. 

The  Disciplines  of  Thomassinus,  in  nine  quarto 
volumes,  treats  of  the  different  ranks  of  the  clergy 
and  other  officials,  of  clerical  and  religious  societies, 
such  as  cathedral  chapters,  convents,  and  monaste 
ries,  of  the  call,  ordination,  and  transference  of  the 
clergy,  of  the  duties  of  their  several  ranks,  and  of 
the  temporalities  of  the  church. 

Among  the  works  of  the  Reformers  are  those  of 
Luther  and  Melancthon,  in  early  folio  editions,  and 
of  Flacius,  Calvin,  Sleidan  and  Chemnitz. 

There  are  several  important  editions  of  the  Scrip- 

38 


298  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

tures,  as  Stephen's  New  Testament  of  1560,  Walton's 
Polyglot,  in  six  folios,  Grabe's  Septuagint,  in  two 
folio  volumes,  and  fine  copies  of  the  Vulgate.  There 
are  also  many  important  works  illustrative  of  the 
Scriptures,  as  Bochart's  Hierozoicon,  in  3  vols.  folio ; 
Spencer's  De  Legibus  Hebraeorum,  in  2  vols.  folio ; 
Reland's  Palcestina,  and  various  recent  publications 
on  the  geography  and  ruins  of  the  Holy  Land  and 
adjacent  countries. 

The  works  that  treat  on  the  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures  are  numerous.  The  long  array  of  com 
mentators  comprises  the  most  learned  and  authorita 
tive  names.  The  collection  is  rich  in  Greek  and 
Roman  classics,  and  standard  English  works  on  the 
ology,  metaphysics,  history,  and  general  literature  ; 
and  although  its  main  feature  is  theology,  there  are 
many  works,  especially  in  the  higher  departments  of 
literature,  which  are  valuable  and  interesting. 


REV.  DR.  MAGOON'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  collection,  although  not  so  large  as  many 
hitherto  noticed,  is  yet  possessed  of  a  marked  pecu 
liarity,  which  invests  it  with  especial  interest.  The 
entire  collection  does  not  much  exceed,  if  indeed  it  em 
braces,  three  thousand  volumes,  but  within  this  lim 
ited  scope  is  to  be  found  all  the  ordinary  professional 
apparatus  of  a  clergyman's  study.  This  portion  of 
the  collection,  including  works  on  philology,  theol 
ogy,  civil  and  ecclesiastical  history,  and  mental  and 
physical  science,  is  not  very  different  from  what  is 
met  with  in  similar  well-selected  theological  libraries. 
It  is,  however,  for  its  extent,  quite  rich  in  the  writ 
ings  of  the  Catholic  fathers  and  divines,  and  contains 
many  of  the  works  of  the  more  eminent  among  the 
French  theologians,  both  of  the  Catholic  and  Prot 
estant  faiths. 

It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  the  reader  to  learn 
that  the  possessor  of  this  collection,  now  an  eminent 
and  popular  divine  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  an 
author  of  several  deservedly  popular  works,  was  in 


300  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

early  life  a  practical  mason,  and  drew  the  means, 
from  which  he  maintained  himself  while  obtaining 
his  education,  from  his  own  hard  labor  as  a  mechanic. 
The  first  brick  ever  laid  by  him  was  taken  from 
its  position  in  the  wall  of  a  house  long  after  it  was 
first  laid,  and  is  now  converted  into  an  inkstand, 
ornamented  with  bronze,  and  occupies  a  prominent 
place  in  the  possessor's  library. 

In  like  manner,  a  blank  book,  purchased  with  the 
first  twenty  shillings  ever  earned  by  him,  and  filled 
from  time  to  time  with  the  stray  thoughts  gleaned 
from  such  reading  and  reflection  as  were  possible  by 
torchlight  and  in  the  intervals  of  severe  labor,  during 
the  first  score  of  industrious  years,  is  proudly  exhib 
ited  as  an  evidence  of  the  difficulties  which  he  had 
to  overcome  in  early  life,  and  the  successful  result  of 
this  early  and  adventurous  struggle. 

The  chief  characteristic  of  the  collection  is  its 
numerous  works  on  the  history,  literature  and  theory 
of  art  in  general,  and  of  Christian  architecture  in 
particular.  There  is  scarcely  a  church,  abbey,  mon 
astery,  college  or  cathedral,  or  picture,  statue,  or  illu 
mination  prominent  in  Christian  art,  extant  in  Italy, 
Germany,  France,  or  the  British  Islands,  that  is  not 
represented,  either  by  original  drawings  or  in  some 
other  graphic  form. 

In  addition  to  these  works,  having  especial  refer- 


REV.    DR.    MAG  DON'S    COLLECTION.  301 

ence  to  Christian  art,  are  many  full  sets  of  folios 
depicting  the  leading  galleries  of  ancient,  mediaeval, 
and  modern  art  in  general,  Some  of  these,  as  the 
six  elephant  folios  on  the  Louvre,  are  in  superb  bind 
ings,  while  many  others,  among  which  are  the  Dres 
den  gallery  and  Retzsch's  Outlines,  derive  an  addi 
tional  value  from  once  having  formed  a  part  of 
the  elegant  collection  of  William  Reginauld  Cour- 
tenay. 

But  what  renders  this  collection  particularly  valu 
able,  is  its  large  number  of  original  drawings  by 
eminent  masters,  which  accompany  the  written  and 
engraved  works.  Among  these  are  two  large  sepia 
drawings,  by  Amici,  of  the  Pantheon  and  St.  Peter's 
at  Rome*.  These  drawings  were  engraved  and  pub 
lished  with  several  others  by  Ackermann.  Both  the 
originals,  and  the  engravings  executed  from  them, 
are  in  the  collection.  The  original  View  near  the 
Basilica  of  St.  Marco,  by  Samuel  Prout,  the  engrav 
ing  of  which  is  in  Finden's  Byron,  and  the  interior 
of  St.  Marco,  by  Luke  Price,  the  engraving  of  which 
is  in  Price's  Venice  Illustrated,  grace  the  collection. 
There  is  likewise  a  superb  General  View  of  Venice, 
by  Wyld  ;  a  fine  interior  View  of  Rheims  Cathedral, 
by  Buckley;  an  Exterior  View  of  St  Peter's  at 
Caen,  by  Charles  Vacher,  and  the  Interior  of  St. 
Germain  des  Pre-s,  at  Paris,  by  Duval. 


302  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

In  the  monastery  adjoining  this  church  the  French 
Benedictines  wrote  or  supervised  and  published  that 
splendid  series  of  works  known  as  the  "  Benedictine 
Editions."  It  is  well  known  that  no  religious  order 
has  been  more  indefatigable  in  the  collection  and 
preservation  of  whatever  was  valuable  in  art  or  learn 
ing  than  this,  and  to  it  savans  are  indebted  for  the 
preservation  of  what  remains  of  Sallust,  Macrobius, 
and  Pliny.  "  Whoever,"  says  Sir  James  Stephen,  in 
his  elegant  essays  on  Ecclesiastical  Biography,  "  will 
consult  the  HiMoria  Rei  Literarice  Ordinis  Sancti 
Benedictii,  by  their  historiographer,  Hignoaldus 
Ziegelbauer,  may  rapidly  accumulate  the  most  con 
clusive  proofs  that,  by  their  order,  were  either  laid 
or  preserved  the  foundations  of  all  the  eminent 
schools  of  learning  in  modern  Europe."* 

The  wealth  accumulated  by  the  monasteries  of 
this  order  often  proved  too  tempting  to  be  resisted  by 
the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  who  frequently  usurped 
the  patronage  of  these  religious  houses,  and  trans 
ferred  them  to  the  government.  In  this  manner  the 
Abbey  of  St.  Germain  des  Pres  was  bestowed  in 
commendam  by  Louis  the  Debonnaire  on  a  bishop 
of  Poitiers,  and  by  Louis  XII.  on  the  widow  of  the 
Duke  of  Lorraine.  Its  venerable  cloisters  are  now 

*  Stephen's  Ecclesiastical  Essays,  p.  371. 


REV.  DR.    MAGGOTS    COLLECTION.  303 

devoted  to  the  use  of  the  Central  Society  of  Agricul 
ture,  and 

"The  walls  for  abbeys  reared  are  turned  to  dens. 
The  cowls  to  sacks  choked  up  with  musty  meal.* 

There  is  also  a  superb  interior  view  of  the  Amiens 
Cathedral,  done  in  oil  by  Gennison.  This  cathedral 
is  considered  as  the  finest  specimen  of  pure  Gothic 
architecture  extant.  It  was  built  in  the  XHIth 
century,  and  about  the  same  time  with  the  Salisbury 
Cathedral  in  England,  yet  it  is  in  advance  of  the 
latter  structure  at  least  a  century.  Its  nave  is  par 
ticularly  remarkable,  and  is  considered  as  a  master 
piece  of  architecture.  Those  who  have  not  been 
enabled  to  institute  a  comparison  between  these  two 
specimens  of  Christian  architecture  may  readily  see 
their  types  imperfectly  carried  out  in  Grace  Church 
and  Calvary,  in  this  city,  the  former  being  a  speci 
men  of  Gothic  art  of  the  XlVth  century,  represented 
by  the  Amiens  cathedral,  although  built  in  fact  a 
century  before,  and  the  latter  one  of  the  Xlllth 
century,  as  developed  in  the  cathedral  at  Salisbury. 
Peter  the  Hermit,  whose  impassioned  eloquence 
aroused  the  monarchs  of  Europe  to  undertake  the 
Crusade,  under  whose  influence  the  Mohammedan 
power  was  prevented  from  overrunning  the  Christian 

*  II  Paradiso. 


304  LIBEARIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

nations  of  tlie  west,  was  born  at  Amiens,  and  his 
statue,  erected  by  the  French  government,  stands  in 
close  proximity  to  the  cathedral.  Copies  of  the 
engravings,  as  well  as  of  the  originals  of  all  the 
works  of  art  just  described  are  to  be  found  in  the 
collection,  besides  which  are  several  other  exem 
plifications  of  continental  monuments  not  yet  en 
graved. 

The  collection  is  especially  rich  in  the  original 
drawings  of  a  large  number  of  the  best  engravings 
executed  in  England,  many  of  which  exhibit  much 
excellence  and  great  mechanical  skill.  Upward  of 
two  hundred  of  these  drawings  were  made  to  illus 
trate  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  Clarke's  Antiqui 
ties,  Coney's  Continental  Antiquities,  Winkle's  Ca 
thedrals,  The  Archaeological  Journal,  Weale's  Archi 
tecture,  Cities  and  Castles  of  England,  Billings's 
Illustrated  Scotland,  Monuments  in  Ireland,  Pugin's 
Examples,  and  Churches  in  Northamptonshire,  Lei 
cestershire,  Cambridgeshire,  and  Durham  county. 

The  original  interiors  of  Knole,  by  Joseph  Nash, 
which  form  the  basis  for  the  litho-tints  constituting 
the  fourth  series  of  the  Mansions  of  England,  by  this 
artist,  and  a  very  elaborate  drawing  by  Scandrett, 
exhibiting  the  north  side  of  the  Confessor's  Chapel, 
Westminster  Abbey,  impart  a  correct  idea  of  the 
best  ecclesiastical  art  in  England.  The  engraving  of 


REV.  DR.  MAGOON'S  COLLECTION.  305 

this  latter  gem  is  to  be  found  in  the  folio  work  en 
titled  Old  England,  in  two  volumes.  Robertas 
sketch  of  the  Coronation  of  William  IV.,  shows  the 
Abbey  in  its  regal  dress. 

A  large  number  of  the  original  sketches  just 
noticed  were  procured  directly  from  the  venerable 
John  Britton,  with  whom  the  possessor  of  this  col 
lection  remained  on  terms  of  great  intimacy  until  his 
decease,  which  occurred  on  the  1st  of  January,  1857, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six.  He  was  an  inde 
fatigable  publisher  of  illustrated  works,  many  of 
which  were  produced  at  large  cost,  and  possess  great 
excellence.  He  is  said  to  have  written  or  edited  no 
less  than  ninety-six  volumes,  some  of  which,  on 
account  of  their  copious  illustrations,  required  an 
outlay  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  bring  them 
out.  Among  his  works  are  the  Beauties  of  England 
and  Wales,  in  fourteen  volumes;  Memoirs  of  the 
Tower  of  London ;  History  of  Westminster  Abbey ; 
History  of  the  late  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  the 
Ancient  Palace  of  Westminster  and  Cathedral  Anti 
quities  of  England. 

He  was  intimately  acquainted  with  nearly  all 
the  eminent  literati  of  his  day,  many  of  whom,  from 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  contrib 
uted  to  the  interest  of  his  diversified  publications. 

But  his  acquaintance  with  artists  was  yet  more  ex- 
39 


306  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

tended  and  influential  for  good.  Benjamin  West, 
Frederick  Nash,  J.  Varley,  J.  Buckler,  Thomas  Gir- 
tin,  and  J.  M.  W.  Turner,  were  early  employed  to 
supply  him  drawings ;  and  these  furnished  occupa 
tion  for  all  the  best  engravers  of  the  time,  several  of 
whom  first  rose  to  eminence  under  his  fostering  care. 
Mr.  Britton  secured  the  most  skilful  draftsmen 
living,  and  by  the  superiority  of  their  graphic  illus 
trations,  his  architectural  works  rapidly  attained 
the  highest  degree  of  success.  He  first  introduced 
Samuel  Prout  to  the  public,  and  drew  George  Cat- 
termole,  when  a  very  young  man,  from  being  an 
assistant  in  a  rural  school  in  Norfolk.  William 
Alexander,  Sir  Jeffry  Wyatville,  John  Sell  Cotman, 
Joseph  Gandy,  Charles  Wild,  William  Westall, 
Copley  Fielding,  J.  A.  Repton,  Edward  Blore,  and 
Frederick  Mackenzie,  were  all  in  his  service,  and 
many  of  them  his  pupils.  The  latter,  perhaps  the 
best  architectural  draftsman  that  ever  lived,  was 
first  made  known  to  popular  esteem  in  connection 
with  Britton's  "Architectural  Antiquities  of  Great 
Britain."  Henry  and  John  Le  Keux,  the  most 
famous  engravers  in  their  line,  were  also  first 
brought  into  general  notice  by  the  same  work, 
and  in  the  "  Beauties  of  England." 

Not  only  does  the  library  contain  a  considerable 
number   of    the   printed   volumes   of    this    prolific 


EEV.  DB.  MAGOON'S  COLLECTION.  307 

author,  but  also,  what  is  more  curious  and  less 
attainable,  a  large  number  of  the  original  drawings 
from  which  the  engravings  were  executed,  which 
are  embodied  in  many  of  the  most  highly  illustrated 
of  these  volumes,  as  the  Cathedral  Antiquities  and 
Architectural  Antiquities,  as  well  as  nearly  all  the 
drawings  made  by  Billings  and  others  for  the  His 
tory  of  the  Houses  of  Parliament.  In  all  of  these 
works,  the  original  drawings  are  placed  side  by  side 
with  the  engraved  copies,  and  are  bound  with  the 
letter-press  which  accompanies  them. 

Another  folio  contains  many  of  the  originals  of 
the  engravings  in  "  The  Cities  of  England ; "  "  Memo 
rials  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge ; "  more  than  sixty 
drawings  by  Mackenzie  of  illustrations  of  King's 
College,  with  an  exquisite  interior  view  of  this  mas 
terly  piece  of  architecture,  by  John  H.  Le  Keux, 
fill  another  folio. 

The  father  and  uncle  of  Le  Keux  were  both  emi 
nent  engravers,  and  especially  distinguished  them 
selves  by  their  engravings  of  monumental  art.  A 
large  number  of  the  engravings  illustrative  of  ruins 
and  antiquities,  which  are  to  be  found  in  Britton's 
England,  were  executed  by  them.  The  younger  Le 
Keux,  who  has  survived  them,  ranks  at  the  present 
time,  in  his  particular  department,  as  the  first  en 
graver  of  the  age.  Many  of  the  engravings,  from 


308  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

drawings  by  modern  masters,  which  adorn  Ruskin's 
Stones  of  Venice,  were  executed  by  him,  and  in  this 
connection  his  name  stands  closely  identified  with 
that  of  Turner.  He  has  also  an  excellent  reputation 
as  a  sketcher  in  water-colors,  and  has  produced  many 
of  the  fine  things  in  this  collection. 

But  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  of  the  Britton 
collection  is  a  large  folio,  containing  all  the  original 
drawings,  accompanied  by  the  etchings,  engravings, 
and  letter-press  which  go  to  make  up  Britton's 
"  Exeter  Cathedral."  This  volume,  which  is  entirely 
unique,  can  never  be  duplicated,  because  the  execu 
tors  of  it  are  now  reposing  in  the  sleep  of  the  tomb. 

This  part  of  the  collection  is  enriched  by  six  orig 
inal  drawings,  from  which  plates  have  been  executed 
for  Petit's  "  Architectural  Studies  in  France,"  and 
"  Christian  Architecture,"  presented  by  the  author 
of  these  works  to  Dr.  Magoon.  The  author  is  an 
English  clergyman  of  the  established  faith,  a  gentle 
man  of  fortune,  and  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  works 
of  art.  With  leisure,  means,  and  great  skill  with 
the  pencil,  he  has  drawn  and  published  many  choice 
specimens  of  art  in  most  of  the  cities  of  Europe. 

There  is  also  in  the  collection  an  original  drawing 
made  by  Birket  Foster,  the  most  voluminous,  and, 
as  a  wood  engraver,  the  most  eminent  artist  of  the 
time,  drawn  for  this  collection,  and  not  engraved. 


KEV.  DK,  MAGOOK'S  COLLECTION.  309 

This  artist  lias  illustrated  a  large  number  of  the 
works  of  the  leading  English  writers,  both  in  prose 
and  poetry,  among  which  are  those  of  Milton,  Cow- 
per,  Byron,  Keats,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  those  of 
our  own  poet,  Longfellow,  and  his  illustrations  in 
this  connection  are  as  familiar  to  most  readers,  as 
are  the  works  of  these  distinguished  writers.  There 
is  an  original  drawing  by  Digby  Wyatt,  the  author 
of  an  elegant  work  on  the  Alhambra,  and  the  gold 
and  silver  ornaments  of  the  middle  ages ;  and  another 
by  Henry  Shaw,  the  author  of  a  work  on  the  illumi 
nated  mediaeval  alphabet,  and  the  furniture  of  these 
ages. 

There  are  many  designs,  by  various  artists,  to 
illustrate  Shakespeare's  varied  thoughts  as  well  as 
the  prose  of  Scott,  not  engraved;  also  the  original 
drawing  of  the  beautiful  Annunciation,  by  John 
Martin,  placed  over  Milman's  Christmas  Hymn,  in 
the  second  volume  of  the  book  of  gems,  the  original 
of  the  large  Comus,  by  Richard  Westall,  engraved 
for  the  folio  of  Milton,  and  Thetis  bringing  Arms  to 
Achilles,  given  by  its  author,  Benjamin  West,  to 
John  Britton,  and  engraved  in  his  "  Fine  Arts  of  the 
English  School." 

In  the  collection  is  also  the  "  Funeral  of  Raphael," 
by  Stothard,  the  engraving  of  which  is  to  be  seen  in 
Rogers' s  Illustrated  Italy,  at  page  144.  Many  of  the 


310  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

illustrations  of  this  work  are  from  the  same  artist, 
who  was  a  warm  friend  of  Rogers,  and  all  are  ex 
quisitely  beautiful.  The  original  of  St.  Bernard,  by 
Turner,  engraved  for  the  same  work,  and  found  on 
page  16,  is  likewise  in  the  collection.  Accompany 
ing  this  drawing  by  Turner,  is  Landseer's  drawing 
of  the  two  noble  dogs  of  the  St.  Bernard  breed,  which 
Turner  used  in  the  composition  of  his  sketch ;  also, 
a  drawing  of  Berne,  and  another  of  Bacharach,  by 
the  same  artist,  engravings  from  which  were  made 
to  accompany  Finden's  Byron. 

There  is  another  brilliant  sketch  by  Turner,  from 
nature,  portraying  land,  river,  inlet,  and  open  sea, 
canopied  by  a  clear  sky,  all  aglow  with  the  bright 
ness  of  the  morning  sun,  presenting  a  noble  key  to 
the  "  Rivers  of  France,"  "  Southern  Coast,"  "  Rivers 
of  England,"  "  Harbors  of  England,"  and  the  admi 
rable  commentaries  upon  these  works  of  this  distin 
guished  artist  by  Ruskin.  But  of  all  these  choice 
specimens  of  art,  none  is  endowed  with  a  deeper 
interest  than  the  original  "  Sandy  Knowe,"  or 
"  Smaylholm,"  of  Turner,  made  for  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
and  treasured  by  him  as  one  of  the  choicest  relics  of 
his  collection. 

The  sketch  represents  a  scene  on  the  northern 
boundary  of  Roxburghshire,  among  a  cluster  of  wild 
rocks,  in  the  centre  of  which  rises  a  solitary  tower, 


KEY.    DR.    MAGGOT'S    COLLECTION.  311 

now  in  ruins,  but  which  once  served  as  a  border-keep 
or  fortification.  The  property  belonged  to  Hugh 
Scott,  of  Harden,  a  relative  of  Sir  Walter's,  with 
whom  his  earliest  years  were  passed.  He  has  made 
this  scene  the  theatre  of  his  first  romantic  poem,  the 
Eve  of  St.  John,  founded  upon  a  celebrated  Irish 
tradition : 

"  The  baron  of  Smaylho'me  rose  with  day, 

He  spurred  his  courser  on, 
Without  stop  or  stay,  down  the  rocky  way 
That  leads  to  Brotherstone." 

In  one  of  his  last  letters,  dated  at  Naples  in  March, 
1832,  to  Mrs.  Scott,  of  Harden,  he  thus  alludes  to 
this  drawing :  "  I  envied  your  management  of  the 
pencil  when  at  Malta,  as  frequently  elsewhere ;  it  is 
quite  a  place  made  to  be  illustrated.  By  the  way, 
I  have  got  an  esquisse  of  old  Smaylholm  Tower  from 
the  pencil  of  Mr.  Turner." 

Four  of  the  above  Turners,  together  with  the 
Stothard  and  Landseer,  came  into  the  collection  di 
rectly  from  the  hands  of  Mr.  Ruskin,  who,  in  placing 
them  in  the  possession  of  the  present  owner,  re 
marked  :  "  In  these  drawings  you  have  the  essence  of 
Turner." 

There  are  in  the  collection  three  handbooks,  filled 
with  the  sketches  of  the  English  artist  Harding, 
containing  many  drawings  of  castles,  tombs,  inscrip- 


312  LIBK ARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

tions,  and  weapons  of  war — among  which  latter  are 
representations  of  the  swords  worn  by  Robert  Bruce 
and  William  Wallace.  The  collection  contains  a 
number  of  illustrated  manuscripts,  the  most  impor 
tant  of  which  is  a  rare  Psalter  of  the  XlVth  century, 
which  contains  the  readings  of  all  the  hymns  quoted 
by  Dante  after  its  litanies. 


WILLIAM  MENZIES'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  collection  contains  four  thousand  volumes, 
and  is  for  the  most  part  in  the  English  language. 
Its  chief  specialty  consists  in  works  on  American 
History,  and  early  American  printed  books.  Among 
the  latter  may  be  mentioned  a  series  of  the  earliest 
works  issued  from  the  press  in  New  York.  Of 
these  is  "  A  letter  of  Advice  to  a  Young  Gentle 
man,  by  R.  L.  Printed  and  sold  by  William  Brad 
ford,  in  New  York.  1696."  Richard  Lyon,  the 
author,  came  early  to  this  country,  and  officiated  as 
a  private  tutor  to  a  young  English  student  at  Cam 
bridge,  to  whom  the  letter  of  advice  was  written. 
It  is  undoubtedly  the  earliest  work  which  issued 
from  the  press  in  New  York,  and  is  so  extremely 
rare,  that  it  is  questionable  whether  another  copy 
is  to  be  found  in  the  state.  There  is  a  collection  of 
tracts  comprised  in  seven  volumes  written  by  the 
Rev.  George  Keith,  and  published  by  Bradford,  at 
New  York,  1 '702-4.  Keith  was  born  in  Scotland, 

and  settled  in  East  Jersey  in  the  capacity  of  Sur- 
40 


314  LIBKAKIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

veyor-General,  in  1682.  The  several  tracts  in  the 
collection  are  on  religious  subjects,  and  are  contro 
versial  in  their  character.  As  early  specimens  of 
printing,  and  as  models  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  religious  controversies  of  the  day  were  con 
ducted,  they  are  both  instructive  and  curious.  In 
addition  to  these  is  a  work  entitled  "  The  Rebuker 
Rebuked,  by  Daniel  Leeds.  1703;"  "A  Sermon 
preached  at  Kingston  in  Jamaica,  by  William  Cor- 
bin.  1703;"  "The  Great  Mystery  of  Foxcraft,  by 
Daniel  Leeds.  1705;"  aA  Sermon  preached  at 
Trinity  Church,  in  New  York,  by  John  Sharp. 
1706;"  "An  Alarm  sounded  to  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  World,  by  Bath  Bowers.  1709;"  and  "Lex 
Parliamentarian  1716.  All  the  above  works  were 
printed  by  Bradford,  the  earliest  New  York  pub 
lisher,  and  one  of  the  earliest  printers  in  America. 
They  constitute  perhaps  the  most  complete  collection 
in  existence  of  the  publications  of  this  early  typog 
rapher.  The  whole  are  in  an  excellent  state  of 
preservation,  and  are  nearly,  if  not  quite  unique. 

Bradford  was  the  founder  of  the  press  in  Penn 
sylvania  as  well  as  New  York.  In  1787  he  pub 
lished  an  almanac,  the  earliest  issue  of  the  Phila 
delphia  press.  A  copy  is  now  in  the  Philadelphia 
Library.  In  the  Bradford  series  in  this  collection, 
is  a  volume  containing  "  The  Temple  of  Wisdom  for 


MK.    MENZIES'S    COLLECTION.  315 

the  Little  World,"  followed  by  "  Abuses  Stript  and 
Whipt,"  eacli  having  its  separate  title-page  with  the 
imprint  of  Bradford  at  Philadelphia,  1688.  This  is 
the  first  book  printed  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 
Montague,  in  his  edition  of  Bacon's  works,  observes 
that  "  it  is  a  fact  not  unworthy  of  notice,  that  the 
first  book  published  in  Philadelphia,  consists  partly 
of  Lord  Bacon's  Essays.  It  is  entitled  l  The  Temple 
of  Wisdom,'  printed  by  William  Bradford,  Philadel 
phia,  1688."  There  are  also  in  the  collection  "The 
Presbyterian  and  Independent  Visible  Churches  in 
New  England,  1689."  George  Keith's  "  Serious 
Appeal,"  1692,  and  "Heresie  and  Hatred,"  also  by 
George  Keith,  1693,  all  printed  and  published  by 
Bradford  at  Philadelphia.  There  are  several  vol 
umes  published  at  New  York,  1726-38,  by  John 
Peter  Zenger,  the  partner  of  Bradford,  and  the  early 
asserter  of  the  liberty  of  the  press  against  the  power 
of  the  Crown.  There  is  also  a  collection  of  works 
from  the  press  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  Among  these 
is  "Anti-Paedo-Rantism."  Philadelphia,  1747.  This 
volume  was  written  by  Abel  Morgan,  pastor  of  a 
Baptist  church  at  Middletown,  in  New  Jersey.  It 
is  said  to  have  been  the  first  book  written  in  America 
relating  to  the  baptismal  controversy,  notwithstand 
ing  which  it  is  but  rarely  mentioned  in  bibliograph 
ical  works ;  also  "  Considerations  on  Keeping  Ne- 


316  LIBEAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

groes,"  by  John  Woolmaii,  Philadelphia,  1762  ;  and 
Cicero's  Discourse  of  Old  Age,"  Philadelphia,  1744. 
This  is  the  rarest,  as  it  certainly  is  the  most  to 
be  desired  of  all  the  works  printed  by  Franklin,  on 
account  of  its  elegant  typographical  execution,  which 
will  not  suffer  in  comparison  with  many  of  the  finest 
productions  of  the  modern  press.  Franklin  states 
that  it  was  the  first  Classic  translated  in  America, 
apparently  unaware  that  it  had  been  anticipated  a 
century,  by  Sandys's  translation  of  Ovid.  In  the 
address  to  the  reader,  Franklin  says :  "  This  version 
was  made  by  the  Honorable  and  learned  Mr.  Logan," 
and  expresses  his  "hearty  wish  that  this  first 
translation  of  a  Classic  in  this  Western  World,  may 
be  followed  with  many  others  performed  with  equal 
judgment  and  success,  and  be  a  happy  omen  that 
Philadelphia  shall  become  the  seat  of  the  American 
Muses."  Logan  accompanied  Perm  in  his  last  voyage 
to  this  country,  in  the  capacity  of  private  secretary. 
He  was  an  excellent  classical  scholar,  and  attained 
to  the  highest  dignities  in  the  colony.  He  possessed 
a  library  of  some  three  thousand  volumes,  which  he 
bequeathed  to  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  and  thus 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  Loganian  library. 

Contemporary  with  these,  and  worthy  a  passing 
notice  among  the  early  productions  of  the  New  York 
colonial  press,  is  a  small  and  very  rare  volume  enti- 


MR.   MENZIES'S    COLLECTION. 


tied  "  An  Explication  of  the  First  Causes  of  Action 
in  Matter/'  New  York,  1745,  by  Cadwallader  Col- 
den,  the  last  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  province 
of  New  York.  Although  this  work  was  reprinted 
in  London  the  year  succeeding  its  production  here, 
it  has  been  said  that  no  copy  is  to  be  found  in  any 
of  the  public  libraries  in  this  country.  The  work 
seems  to  have  become  scarce  as  early  as  1786,  for  in 
January  of  that  year,  Mr.  Jefferson  writing  to  Fran 
cis  Hopkinson,  observes  :  "  Many,  many  years  ago, 
Cadwallader  Golden  wrote  a  very  small  pamphlet 
on  the  subjects  of  attraction  and  impulsion,  a  copy 
of  which  he  sent  to  Monsieur  De  Buffon.  He  was 
so  charmed  with  it,  that  he  put  it  into  the  hands  of 
a  friend  to  translate,  who  lost  it.  It  has  ever  since 
weighed  upon  his  mind,  and  he  has  made  repeated 
trials  to  have  it  found  in  England.  But  in  vain. 
He  applied  to  me.  I  am  in  hopes  if  you  will  write 
a  line  to  the  booksellers  of  Philadelphia  to  rummage 
their  shops,  that  some  of  them  will  find  it.  Or 
perhaps  some  of  the  careful  old  people  of  Philadel 
phia  or  New  Jersey  may  have  preserved  a  copy." 
Whether  Hopkinson  was  successful  does  not  appear. 
Among  the  early  works  relating  to  America,  is 
"An  Historical  and  Geographical  Account  of  the 
Province  and  Country  of  Pennsilvania  and  of  West 
New  Jersey  in  America,"  by  Gabriel  Thomas,  Lon- 


318  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

don,  1698.  The  chief  value  of  this  early  descrip 
tion  written  after  a  personal  residence  of  fifteen 
years  in  the  provinces  described,  consists  in  its  rarity. 
Some  few  years  since  a  lithograph  was  taken  of 
the  volume  in  this  collection,  and  a  number  of 
fac-similes  were  produced.  In  this  connection  may 
be  mentioned  "Josselyn's  New  England  Rarities," 
London,  1672,  which  is  the  earliest  work  on  the 
Natural  History  of  New  England.  "  Josselyn's  Ac 
count  of  Two  Voyages  to  New  England,"  London, 
1674 ;  "  Frampton's  Joyfull  Newes  out  of  the  Newe- 
Found  World,"  London,  1580;  "Hakluyt's  Princi 
pal  Navigations,  Voyages,  and  Discoveries  of  the 
English  Nation,"  London,  1589;  "Acosta's  History 
of  the  Indies,"  London,  1604 ;  "  Hakluyt's  History 
of  the  West  Indies,"  translated  by  Lok,  London, 
1612  ;  "  Gage's  New  Survey  of  the  West  Indies," 
first  edition,  London,  1648  ;  "  B.  deLas  Casas's  Regi- 
onum  Indicarum  per  Hispanos,  &c"  Heidelbergh, 
1664,  and  Lawson's  "Journal  of  a  Thousand  Miles 
travelled  through  several  Nations  of  Indians,"  Lon 
don,  1714.  This  volume,  which  is  of  the  greatest 
rarity,  is  seldom  found  complete.  The  copy  in  the 
collection  is  quite  perfect,  and  contains  all  the 
plates  of  natural  history,  frequently  wanting.  IJich 
observes  that  "an  American  paper  mentions  a 
copy  having  been  sold  a  few  years  ago  in  South 


MR.    MENZIES'S    COLLECTION.  319 

Carolina  for  sixty  dollars ;"  and  Judge  James,  author 
of  the  Life  of  Marion,  writing  in  1821,  remarks  that 
"  there  are  but  two  copies  of  Lawson's  Journal  of 
One  Thousand  Miles  known  at  present  to  be  in  exist 
ence  !" 

There  are  "  A  Description  of  Carolina,"  by 
Thomas  Ash,  London,  1682  ;  "An  Account  of  the 
Province  of  Carolina,"  by  Samuel  Wilson,  London, 
1682  ;  "  Virginia  Impartially  Examined,"  by  Win. 
Bullock,  London,  1649 ;  "  Hennepin's  New  Discovery," 
London,  1698;  "Las  Casas's  Voyages,"  London,  1699. 
Heylin's  Chorography,"  London,  1703 ;  "  Joutel's 
Journal  of  La  Salle's  last  Voyage,"  London,  1714 ; 
"Herrera's  General  History,"  London,  1725;  and 
"  Charlevoix's  Journal,"  London,  1761. 

There  is  likewise  in  the  collection  a  Discourse  on 
the  Discovery  of  Newfoundland,  by  Captain  Richard 
Whitbourne,  which  comprises  the  tract  published  by 
Captain  Whitbourne,  the  earliest  of  the  Newfound 
land  settlers,  in  1620,  with  his  discourse  afterward 
written,  London,  1622.  The  colony  of  Newfound 
land  was  originally  settled  under  the  auspices  of 
Sir  George  Calvert,  afterward  Lord  Baltimore,  and 
one  of  the  secretaries  of  James  I.  of  England.  This 
nobleman  selected  Captain  Edward  Wynne  as  Gov 
ernor  of  the  colony,  and  some  of  his  letters  in  that 
capacity  appear  in  this  volume.  After  a  sufficient 


320  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

trial  to  satisfy  themselves  of  the  impracticability  of 
making  a  profitable  settlement,  it  was  abandoned  for 
the  more  genial  climate  of  Maryland,  in  which 
Lord  Baltimore  finally  established  himself  under 
the  governorship  of  his  younger  brother,  Leonard 
Calvert.  The  Golden  Fleece,  which  is  a  strange 
combination  of  truth  and  fiction  relating  to  New- 
foundland,  published  in  London,  1626  ;  "A  Concise 
Account  of  North  America,"  London,  1765,  and  a 
Journal  of  the  Excursions  made  in  America  by 
Major  Robert  Rogers,  London,  1765,  which  is 
quoted  as  authority  by  all  writers  on  early  Ameri 
can  history,  are  in  the  collection.  Rogers  was  a  na 
tive  of  New  Hampshire,  and  commanded  a  body  of 
provincial  rangers.  He  was  intimately  associated 
with  Putnam  and  Stark,  and  with  them  engaged  in 
an  Indian  warfare  in  which  he  accomplished  such 
daring  feats  and  underwent  such  hair-breadth  escapes 
as  to  have  made  him  the  familiar  theme  at  many  a 
New  England  fireside.  In  addition  to  the  works 
above  noticed,  he  is  generally  admitted  to  be  the 
author  of  a  curious  drama,  entitled  Ponteach,  or  the 
Savages  of  America,  London,  1766.  Mr.  Park- 
man,  in  his  admirable  History  of  the  Conspiracy  of 
Pontiac,  remarks  that  "  this  work  is  very  rare,  and, 
besides  the  copy  in  my  own  possession,  I  know  of 
but  one  other,  which  may  be  found  in  the  library  of 


MR.    MENZIES'S    COLLECTION.  321 

the  British  Museum."     There  is  an  excellent  copy  of 
this  work  in  the  collection. 

The  collection  contains  the  MS.  Diary  of  the  siege 
of  Detroit  recently  printed  by  Mr.  Munsell  of  Al 
bany,  in  his  Historical  Series.  Nothing  is  known 
concerning  the  author  of  this  journal,  although  there 
is  good  reason  to  believe  that  he  acted  as  secretary 
to,  and  was  in  the  full  confidence  of  the  command 
ant.  The  entire  MS.  is  in  one  handwriting,  and 
upon  several  different  kinds  and  sizes  of  paper.  It 
bears  conclusive  evidence  of  authenticity,  and  is  be 
lieved  to  bring  a  valuable  accession  to  the  knowl 
edge  already  possessed  respecting  the  interesting 
events  to  which  it  relates.  Among  the  works  re 
lating  to  the  French  and  Indian  war  of  1764,  is  an 
excellent  large-paper  copy  of  "  Mante's  History," 
London,  1772,  which  gives  a  very  satisfactory  ac 
count  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  and  in  the 
introduction  has  an  interesting  notice  of  Washing 
ton's  escape  from  assassination  by  an  Indian,  in  De 
cember,  1753  ;  also,  Knox's  "  Historical  Journal," 
London,  1769.  The  author  was  an  English  officer, 
and  took  part  in  the  scenes  and  events  which  he  has 
attempted  to  describe.  The  work  is  in  the  form  of 
a  journal,  in  which  every  occurrence,  however  mi 
nute,  is  described,  many  of  which  are  of  the  most 

interesting  nature,  particularly   those  which  relate 
41 


322  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

to  the  death  of  Wolfe,  and  the  siege  of  Quebec ; 
"Boquet's  Expedition  against  the  Ohio  Indians," 
published  by  Bradford,  Philadelphia,  1765,  and  the 
English  edition  of  the  same  work  published  in  Lon 
don,  in  1766.  This  last  edition  contains  plates  en 
graved  by  Grignion  and  Canot,  after  designs  by 
Benjamin  West.  There  is  a  choice  collection  of 
works  relating  to  New  England  previous  to  the 
Revolution,  together  with  several  early  productions 
of  the  New  England  press,  many  of  which  are  rare, 
as  "  A  Discourse  about  Civil  Government,"  by  John 
Davenport,  1663  ;  "Three  Choice  and  Profitable  Ser 
mons,"  by  John  Norton,  1664;  "A  Letter  to  Mr. 
John  Drury,"  1664,  and  Eleazer  Mather's  "Serious 
Exhortation,"  1671.  The  preceding  were  printed  at 
Cambridge,  where  the  first  press  was  established  in 
1638.  "The  Happiness  of  a  People  in  the  Wisdom 
of  their  Rulers,  by  William  Hubbard,  minister  of 
Ipswich,  Boston,  printed  by  John  Foster,  1676." 
This  rare  volume  is  the  first  book  printed  at  Boston. 
Previous  to  1676,  all  the  printing  in  the  British 
American  colonies  was  executed  at  Cambridge.  In 
1674,  the  General  Court  ordered  "that  there  may 
be  a  printing  presse  elsewhere  than  at  Cambridge." 
In  compliance  with  this  permission,  John  Foster,  the 
first  Boston  printer,  established  his  press  during  the 
year  1676.  Thomas,  in  his  "History  of  Printing," 


MR.  MENZIES'S    COLLECTION.  323 

alluding  to  Foster,  observes, "  The  earliest  book  which 
I  have  seen  from  the  press  under  his  care,  was  pub 
lished  in  1676,"  while  Mr.  Drake,  no  inconsiderable 
authority  in  such  matters,  states,  that  "  a  printing 
house  was  first  established  in  Boston  this  year 
(1676)."  There  is  "A  Narrative  of  the  Troubles 
with  the  Indians  in  New  England,"  Boston,  1677. 
This  fine  copy  has  the  very  rare  wood-cut  "  Map  of 
New  England,  being  the  first  that  ever  was  here  cut ;" 
"  Two  Sermons  on  the  Death  of  Lady  Mildmay,"  by 
Leonard  Hoar,  Boston,  1680 ;  "  A  Confession  of 
Faith,"  Boston,  1680;  "A  Platform  of  Church  Dis 
cipline,"  Boston,  1680;  "A  Public  Trial  of  the 
Quakers  in  Bermudas,"  Boston,  1682;  "God's  Eye 
on  the  Contrite,"  a  Sermon  by  William  Adams,  Bos 
ton,  1685  ;  "  New  England's  Tears  for  Old  England's 
Fears,"  by  William  Hooke,  London,  1641;  "A  Let 
ter  of  Many  Ministers  in  Old  England,"  London, 
1643;  "The  Simple  Cobbler  of  Aggawam  in  Amer 
ica,"  London,  1647,  by  Nathaniel  Ward,  "whose 
wit,"  says  Cotton  Mather,  "made  him  known  to 
more  Englands  than  one ;"  "  The  Light  appearing 
more  and  more  towards  the  Perfect  Day,"  London, 
1651,  by  H.  Whitfield,  the  earliest  pastor  at 
G  uilford,  in  Connecticut ;  "  A  Brief  History  of 
the  War  with  the  Indians,"  by  Increase  Mather, 
London,  1676 ;  a  copy  in  the  finest  state  of  pres- 


324  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

ervation,  ofPietuset  Gratulatio,  Boston,  1671.  There 
is  also  "An  Abstract  of  the  Laws  of  New  England 
as  They  are  now  Established,"  by  John  Cotton, 
London,  1641.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  first 
printed  collection  of  a  form  for  laws  in  America. 
The  laws  are  very  concise,  and  each  is  based  upon 
some  quotation  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  which 
accompanies  it.  As  early  as  1635,  the  people  of 
Massachusetts,  apprehending  danger  to  the  Common 
wealth  from  the  want  of  positive  laws,  prayed  the 
Governor  and  Magistrates  to  cause  a  code  of  laws  to 
be  framed  for  the  government  of  the  colony.  Little 
progress  seems  to  have  been  made  in  the  work  until 
the  following  year,  when  Cotton,  at  the  request  of 
the  General  Court,  delivered  his  model.  The  Gener 
al  Court,  however,  declined  its  acceptance,  preferring 
"  The  Body  of  Liberties,"  prepared  by  Rev.  Nathan 
iel  Ward,  minister  of  Ipswich,  which  was  adopted 
in  its  stead.  This  work  is  rare,  and  has  been  twice 
reprinted.  It  is  curious  as  presenting  in  a  forcible 
manner,  the  peculiarities  of  the  early  settlers  of  New 
England. 

In  this  department  is  Bishop's  "New  England 
Judged,"  London,  1661.  A  fine  copy  of  the  same 
work,  both  parts  complete,  with  Whiting's  "  Truth 
and  Innocency  Defended,"  London,  1703;  Morton's 
"  New  England  Memorial,"  Boston,  1772  ;  Wood's 


ME.    MENZIES'g    COLLECTION.  325 

"  New  England  Prospect/'  London,  1764 ;  and 
Hooker's  "  Soul's  Implantation,"  with  otliers,  in 
four  volumes,  the  first  of  which  was  published  at 
London,  in  1637,  and  the  remaining  three  in  1638. 
These  volumes  contain  a  series  of  discourses  deliv 
ered  by  Thomas  Hooker,  the  first  minister  of  Cam 
bridge,  Massachusetts,  and  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  colony  of  Connecticut,  in  which  he  settled  at 
Hartford,  with  one  hundred  companions,  among 
whom  he  exercised  great  influence.  Dr.  Allen,  the 
former  President  of  Bowdoin  College,  in  his  excellent 
American  Biographical  Dictionary,  says  of  Hooker, 
that  "  he  appeared  with  such  majesty  in  the  pulpit, 
that  it  was  pleasantly  said  of  him,  that  he  could  put 
a  king  into  his  pocket." 

There  is  likewise  in  the  collection  a  curious  and 
extremely  rare  work  by  Thomas  Morton,  entitled 
"The  New  English  Canaan,"  Amsterdam,  1637. 
The  author  of  this  work,  who  appears  to  have  pos 
sessed  a  jovial,  and  somewhat  of  a  roystering  tem 
perament,  found  himself  quite  ill  associated  with 
the  puritanical  founders  of  New  England.  Allen 
says  of  him,  "  that  he  fell  into  great  licentiousness, 
and  became  the  lord  of  misrule ;"  he  supplied  the 
Indians  with  arms,  that  they  might  hunt  for  him, 
and  was  by  this  means,  perhaps,  an  instrument  in 
endangering  the  safety  of  the  colonists.  On  the 


326  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

occasion  of  giving  to  Pasonagessit  the  name  of  Mare- 
mont,  under  Ms  auspices  a  pine-tree,  eighty  feet  in 
height,  with  buck's  horns  at  the  top,  was  planted  in 
the  ground,  around  which  the  company  danced,  with 
such  hilarity,  as  the  good  cheer  they  had  not  failed 
to  provide  inspired,  much  to  the  dissatisfaction  of 
the  stricter  colonists,  by  whom  he  was  for  this  offence 
sent  out  of  the  colony  as  a  prisoner.  Duyckinck  re 
marks,  with  much  show  of  probability,  that,  although 
the  book  professes  to  have  been  printed  at  Amster 
dam,  it  was  probably  executed  in  London.  Morton 
returned  to  the  colonies  after  its  appearance,  and  was 
imprisoned  in  Boston  for  a  year,  ostensibly  on  account 
of  the  libel  it  promulgated  against  the  colonies. 

The  collection  contains  a  large-paper  copy  of  Cot 
ton  Mather's  Magnolia,  in  an  excellent  state  of  pres 
ervation,  published  in  London  in  1702. 

That  portion  of  the  collection  relating  to  the 
period  of  the  Revolution,  embraces  most  of  the 
standard  and  scarce  works  having  reference  to  that 
event.  Among  the  latter  may  be  mentioned  "  Mur 
ray's  Impartial  History  of  the  War,"  in  three  vol 
umes,  the  third  volume  of  which  is  rarely  to  be  met 
with;  "Simcoe's  Journal  of  the  Operations  of  the 
Queen's  Rangers,"  Exeter,  1787,  a  fine  copy  of  the 
original  privately  printed  quarto  edition,  but  few 
copies  of  which  are  known  in  America ;  also,  Lieu- 


MR.    MENZIES'S    COLLECTION.  327 

tenant  Moody' s  "Narrative  of  his  Exertions  and 
Sufferings  in  the  Cause  of  Government,"  second  edi 
tion,  London,  1783.*  There  is  Pownall's  "Memorial 
to  the  Sovereigns  of  Europe,"  London,  1780.  Pow- 
nall  was  successively  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  New 
Jersey,  and  South  Carolina.  Being  recalled,  he  was 
chosen  a  Member  of  Parliament  in  1768,  and  strenu 
ously  opposed  the  measures  of  the  administration 
against  the  colonies.  The  "  Memorial"  presupposes  the 
independence  of  America,  and  is  written  with  great 
clearness  of  information  and  strength  of  argument. 
It  was  published  anonymously.  The  present  copy 
is  a  presentation  one,  with  a  characteristic  inscrip 
tion  to  His  Excellency,  the  Baron  Albenslaber,  is 
annotated  in  the  hand-writing  of  the  author,  and 
has  his  signature  at  the  end  of  the  work;  also 
"  The  Trial  of  James  Aitken,  commonly  known  as 
John  the  Painter,"  London,  1777.  Aitken  was  a 
native  of  Scotland.  He  was  condemned,  executed, 
and  hung  in  chains,  for  setting  fire  to  the  Royal 
Dock-yard  and  shipping  at  Portsmouth,  in  December, 
1776.  With  the  privity  of  Silas  Deane,  whom  he 
met  and  conferred  with  at  Paris,  the  attempt  to 
destroy  the  government  property,  stores,  and  ship 
ping  at  Portsmouth,  was  determined  on,  which,  not- 

*  A  copy  of  this  work  is  in  the  library  of  Mr.  Davis. 


328  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

withstanding  its  apparently  desperate  and  impracti 
cable  character,  partially  succeeded.  From  Deane, 
who  supplied  him  with  a  royal  passport,  and  a  sum 
of  money  in  advance,  he  had  assurances  of  a  reward 
proportioned  to  the  services  he  should  render  to  the 
American  cause.  The  Counsel  for  the  King  on  the 
trial,  publicly  accused  Benjamin  Franklin  of  com 
plicity  in  the  enterprise,  and  expressed  a  hope  that 
he  might  be  called  to  account  for  it.  The  affair,  says 
Gordon,  created  much  confusion,  apprehension,  and 
suspicion  throughout  England  at  the  time  of  its 
occurrence.  The  "  Paris  Papers,"  or  Mr.  Silas  Deane's 
late  Intercepted  Letters,  Rivington,  New  York,  1782, 
is  of  the  greatest  rarity,  and  consists  of  letters  writ 
ten  by  Deane  at  Paris  in  1781,  to  his  brothers  and 
intimate  friends  in  America.  They  were  intercepted 
and  published  by  the  enemy,  with  a  view,  as  Deane 
remarks,  to  ruin  him  in  the  eyes  of  his  countrymen. 
There  are  in  this  division,  "  Burgoyne's  state  of  the 
Expedition,"  London,  1780,  accompanied  by  a  com 
plete  collection  of  collateral  works,  to  which  the 
Northern  Campaign  and  the  capture  and  recall  of  Bur- 
goyne  gave  rise ;  "  Tarleton's  History  of  the  Southern 
Campaigns,"  London,  17 81,  with  McKenzie's  "Strict 
ures  on  Tarleton's  History,"  London,  1787 ;  and  Col 
onel  George  Homger's  Reply  to  McKenzie's  Strict 
ures,  London,  1789.  The  collection  of  works  relating 


MR.    MENZIES'S    COLLECTION.  329 

to  the  controversy  between  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and 
Lord  Cornwallis  is  complete ;  "  The  Narrative  of  Sir 
William  Howe,"  London,  1781,  with  a  series  of  the 
contemporary  publications,  also  complete,  by  Gallo 
way  and  others.  There  is  also  a  complete  set  of 
"  Force's  American  Archives"  as  far  as  published ; 
and  several  hundred  pamphlets  issued  during  this 
period,  treating  of  the  incidents  connected  with  this 
eventful  war,  many  of  which  are  curious,  some 
rare,  and  all  valuable,  as  throwing  light  upon  the 
motives  of  those  who  participated  on  one  side  or 
the  other  of  the  important  struggle. 

The  collection  of  the  biographies  of  the  revolu 
tionary  worthies  is  quite  complete ;  and  embraces  a 
collection  of  works  relating  to  General  Washington, 
containing  nearly  one  hundred  volumes,  among  which 
are  copies  of  all  the  biographies  of  Washington, 
from  the  cheap  editions  of  Weems,  to  the  noble 
quartos  of  Irving.  Among  the  more  rare  volumes 
in  this  series,  is  "  The  Letters  of  Valens,"  London, 
1777,  a  waif  from  Washington's  library,  and  bearing 
his  book-plate. 

Another  curious  and  rare  work  is  the  "Journal  of 
Major  George  Washington,  sent  by  the  Hon.  Robert 
Dinwiddie,  Esq.,  His  Majesty's  Lieutenant-Go vernor 
and  Commander-in-chief  in  Virginia,  to  the  command- 

o          / 

ant  of  the  French  forces  in  Ohio,  with  the  Governor's 
42 


330  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

letter,"  and  a  translation  of  the  French  officer's  an 
swer,  accompanied  by  a  very  accurate  map  of  the 
then  western  part  of  the  colony  of  Virginia.  This 
journal  was  originally  published  in  William sburg, 
Virginia,  and  afterward  reprinted  at  London  in 
1754.  The  immediate  occasion  of  Washington's  em 
bassy,  was  the  hostile  attitude  assumed  by  the  Indi 
ans  toward  the  English  settlers  west  of  the  Alle- 
gany  mountains,  incited,  as  it  was  supposed,  by  the 
French,  who  were  accused  of  attempting  to  connect 
Louisiana  with  Canada  by  a  chain  of  military  posts, 
and  thus,  with  the  aid  of  the  Indians,  secure  for 
themselves  the  whole  of  the  fertile  plains  of  the 
West.  The  Ohio  Company,  composed  of  English 
settlers,  complained  loudly  to  the  Governor  of  Vir 
ginia  of  the  belligerent  aspect  of  the  French  and 
Indians,  and  asked  his  interposition.  Irving,  speak 
ing  of  this  journal,  remarks  that  it  was  printed  and 
widely  promulgated  throughout  the  colonies  and 
England,  and  awakened  the  nation  to  a  sense  of  the 
impending  dangers,  and  the  necessity  of  prompt 
measures  to  anticipate  the  French  movements.  An 
other  remarkable  work,  and  one  not  frequently  met 
with,  is  the  "  Female  Review ;  or  Memoirs  of  an 
American  Young  Lady,  whose  Life  and  Character 
are  Peculiarly  Distinguished,  from  the  Fact  that  she 
Served  as  a  Continental  Soldier  for  nearly  Three 


MR.    MENZIES'g    COLLECTION.  331 

Years."  This  young  American  Amazon,  whose  true 
name  was  Deborah  Sampson,  was  a  native  of  Plymp- 
ton,  Mass.,  and  joined  the  army  at  about  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  in  the  capacity  of  a  common  soldier, 
under  the  assumed  name  of  Robert  Shurtliffe.  Dur 
ing  the  time  she  was  engaged,  she  gained  the  confi 
dence  of  her  officers  by  her  expertness  and  precision, 
and  by  her  exemplary  conduct.  She  was  a  volun 
teer  in  several  hazardous  enterprises,  was  twice 
wounded  by  a  musket-ball,  and  managed  so  well  to 
conceal  her  sex  that  her  companions  in  arms  had  no 
suspicion  that  the  soldier  by  their  side  was  a  female, 
until  at  last  a  severe  wound  which  she  received  in 
battle,  and  which  nearly  terminated  her  career,  led 
to  the  discovery.  On  her  recovery  she  quitted  the 
army,  was  intimate  in  the  family  of  General  Wash 
ington,  and  soon  married. 

There  is  a  good  collection  of  State  histories,  not 
the  least  important  of  which  are  Neal's  "  History  of 
New  England,"  London,  1720;  Beverly's  "History 
of  Virginia,"  London,  1722  ;  Callender's  "Discourse 
on  Rhode  Island,"  Boston,  1739 ;  Stith's  "History 
of  Virginia,"  Williamsburg,  1747 ;  Hutchinson's 
"  History  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  London,  1760,  with 
the  exceedingly  rare  volume  of  papers  relating 
thereto,  printed  at  Boston,  1769,  and  seldom  found 
with  the  work  ;  Smith's  "  Nova  Caesaria,"  Burling- 


332  LLBKAKIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

ton,  1765;  Peters' s  "  General  History  of  Connecticut," 
London,  1781;  Williams' s  "History  of  Vermont," 
Walpole,  1794 ;  Proud's  "  History  of  Pennsylvania," 
Philadelphia,  1797  ;  Burke's  "  History  of  Virginia," 
Petersburg,  1804-16,  including  the  fourth  volume, 
which  is  rarely  found  with  the  others,  the  edition 
having  been  destroyed  by  fire ;  Ramsay's  "  History 
of  South  Carolina,"  Charleston,  1809;  Belknap's 
"  Histoiy  of  New  Hampshire,"  Dover,  1812;  Trum- 
bull's  "  History  of  Connecticut,"  New  Haven,  1818  ; 
Moulton's  "  History  of  New  York,"  1824-43,  the 
three  parts,  very  rare,  and  seldom  found  complete ; 
with  many  others  of  minor  importance. 

The  collection  also  embraces  a  series  of  works  re 
lating  to  the  Indians  of  North  America,  and  includes 
among  others,  those  of  Adair,  Colden,  Eastman,  Mc- 
Kenny  and  Hall,  Catlin,  Schoolcraft,  Drake,  Simon, 
Halket,  Tanner,  Hunter,  Worsley  and  Boudinot. 

There  is  also  a  department  of  old  American  poe 
try,  in  which  is  found  all  the  editions  of  the  poetical 
works  of  Philip  Freneau,  who  has  with  justice  been 
styled  the  poet  of  the  Revolution ;  also  the  works  of 
Trumbull,  Hopkinson,  Dwight,  Barlow  and  Hum 
phreys,  the  last  a  presentation  copy  from  the  author 
to  the  celebrated  Dr.  Jenner.  In  addition  to  these 
are  the  works  of  Mercy  Warren,  Phylis  Wheatley,  and 
Mrs.  Bleecker,  with  many  others.  There  is  a  respec- 


MK.    MENZIES8    COLLECTION.  333 

table  collection  of  works  relating  to  English  Bibliog 
raphy,  which  embraces  a  complete  set  of  the  biblio 
graphical  works  of  Dibdin,  many  of  the  volumes 
comprising  the  set  being  profusely  embellished  with 
additional  plates  and  pertinent  autograph  letters 
from  the  author.  There  are  also  in  this  division, 
Watt's  Bibliotlieca  Sritannica  ;  Lowndes's  Librarian's 
Manual ;  Clarke's  Repertoriiim  Bibliograpliicum  j 
Brydges's  Censura  Literaria  /  Brunet's  Manual ;  Be- 
loe's  Anecdotes  of  Scarce  Books  ;  Brydges's  Hestitu- 
ta ;  the  Sibliofheca  Anglo- Poetica ;  Home's  Bibli 
ography  ;  Hartshorne's  Book  Rarities ;  Edwards  on 
Libraries  ;  Berjeau's  Biblia  Pauperum  ;  and  Sothe 
by's  Principia  Typograpliica. 

There  is  a  collection  of  works  on  American  Bibli 
ography  which  contains  many  of  the  choice  and  rare 
works  on  that  subject.  Among  these  are  Kennett's 
JBibUoiheca  Americana  Primordia,  London,  1713 ; 
Homer's  (?)  B'Miotlieca  Americana,  London,  1^89 ; 
Warden's  Bibliotlieca  America  Septentrionalis,  Paris, 
1820;  Rich's  Bibliotlieca  Americana,  London,  1832- 
46,  the  three  parts  complete ;  Ternaux's  BiUiotheque 
Americaine^wns,  1837  ;  Faribault's  Catalogue  d'Ou- 
vrages  sur  DHwtowe  de  VAmeriqiie,  Quebec,  1837 ; 
Warden's  Bibliotlieca  Americana,  Paris,  1840;  Lude- 
wig's  Literature  of  American  Local  History,  New 
York,  1846,  with  supplement  complete;  Asher's 


334  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

"  Bibliographical  Essay,"  Amsterdam,  1855 ;  and 
Stevens's  "  American  Nuggets,"  London,  1858.  To 
gether  with  the  works  of  Roorbach,  Munsell,  Triib- 
ner,  and  others. 

There  is  a  good  collection  of  standard  English 
works.  The  department  of  Selles-Lettres  in  partic 
ular  is  well  selected,  and  embraces  some  of  the  best 
authors.  One  remarkable  feature  of  this  library  is 
the  excellent  condition  of  the  works,  most  of  which 
are  of  the  best  editions,  and  many  on  large  paper. 
All  are  well  bound,  many  of  them  by  Riviere,  Hay- 
day,  Bedford,  McKenzie,  and  other  noted  binders. 


H.  C.  MURPHY'S  LIBKARY. 


MR.  MURPHY'S  library  contains  about  five  thousand 
volumes,  fully  three-fourths  of  which  are  devoted  to 
works  relating  to  America.  It  is  susceptible  of  a 
division  into  works  on  early  American  history,  local 
American  history,  later  American  history,  and  those 
of  a  miscellaneous  character.  Each  of  these  divis 
ions  pretty  fairly  represents  about  one-fourth  of  the 
library,  so  far  as  numbers  are  concerned. 

A  leading  feature  in  the  American  department, 
considered  as  a  whole,  is  the  w^orks  it  contains  illus 
trative  of  local,  traditional,  and  aboriginal  history, 
which,  as  has  been  already  stated,  embraces  some 
what  more  than  one  thousand  volumes.  Many, 
indeed  most,  of  the  works  in  this  department  are 
rare,  and  not  a  few  are  possessed  of  the  highest 
value  as  accurate  historical  evidences  of  the  past. 

Conspicuous  among  these  are  the  Jesuit  Relations 
de  ce  qui  Jest  passe  dans  la  Nouvelle  France.  Mr. 
Murphy's  library  contains  twenty-five  of  these  rela- 


336  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

tions,  beginning  with  those  made  by  Pere  le  Jeune, 
in  1634,  which  are  very  rare,  and  ending  with  those 
of  le  Pere  D'Ablon,  made  in  1670  or  1672.  These 
include  the  relations  made  by  Lemercier,  Vimount, 
Lalemant,  Ragueneau,  and  Quens,  and  possess  the 
highest  value  on  account  of  the  truthfulness  of  the 
statements  and  the  accuracy  of  the  observations. 
Besides  these,  are  two  relations  made  in  1627  and 
1632,  included  in  the  Mercure  Franqois,  making  in 
all  twenty-seven  distinct  relations.* 

As  fit  companion-pieces  to  the  Jesuit  relations, 
although  far  less  accurate  as  general  descriptions  of 
passing  events,  are  the  early  New  England  tracts, 
by  Eliot,  Shepard,  Winslow,  Whitfield,  and  others, 
published  between  the  years  1643  and  1659,  under 
the  quaint  titles,  and  in  the  quaint  language,  then 
much  in  vogue,  of  "New  England's  First  Fruits;" 
"  The  Day  Breaking,  of  the  Gospel,  if  not  the  Sun 
Rising,  with  the  Indians  in  New  England ;"  "  The 
Clear  Sunshine  of  the  Gospel  breaking  forth  upon 
the  Indians ;"  "  Strength  out  of  Weakness  ;"  "  Tears 
of  Repentance ;"  "  The  Glorious  Progress  of  the 
Gospel  among  the  Indians  in  New  England;"  "A 
Further  Account  of  the  Progress  of  the  Gospel  in 
New  England "-  —nine  in  number.  The  last  was 

*  Mr.  Bancroft's  library  contains,  in  a  separate  volume,  the  same 
relation  made  by  Pere  le  Jeune  in  1632. 


MR.  MURPHY'S  COLLECTION.  337 

published  in  1659,  and  is  perhaps  the  most  curious 
of  them  all.  It  contains,  in  "  Some  Helps  for  the 
Indians  in  New  Haven  Colony,"  a  specimen  of  the 
language  of  the  Indians  of  the  colony,  by  Abraham 
Pierson,  a  Puritan  clergyman,  and  afterward  one  of 
the  founders  of  Newark  in  New  Jersey.  The  tract 
is  extremely  rare,  and  but  one  other  copy  is  known 
to  exist  in  America. 

The  titles  of  these  pamphlets,  which  are  particu 
larly  valuable  for  the  light  they  throw  upon  the 
early  local  history  of  New  England,  sufficiently  indi 
cate  the  chief  object  of  the  writers,  and  it  unfortu 
nately  happens  that  in  their  highly  laudable  relig 
ious  zeal,  for  which  no  one  was  more  celebrated  than 
Eliot,  often  styled  the  Apostle  to  the  Indians,  they 
failed  to  narrate  with  sufficient  accuracy  the  every 
day  incidents  which  fell  under  their  notice,  an 
account  of  which  would  at  the  present  moment  be 
considered,  if  possessed,  as  a  treasure  above  all  price. 
In  this  respect,  the  above  tracts  of  the  New  Eng 
land  missionaries,  are  very  far  inferior  to  those  of 
their  Canadian  co-laborers. 

The  collection  contains  an  excellent  copy  of  the 
Bible  published  in  the  Massachusetts  Indian  tongue, 
under  the  auspices  of  Eliot,  in  1663,  to  which  refer 
ence  has  already  been  made  ;  "  Sagard's  Vocabulary 

of  the  Ancient  Huron ;"    "  Roger  Williams's  Key 
43 


338  LIBEAKIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

into  the  Language  of  America.  1643 ;"  Francois  Bre 
ton's  Dictionnaire  Caraibe-Frangaise,  published  in 
1665 ;  "  Molina's  Dictionary  of  the  Mexican  lan 
guage,"  published  at  Mexico  in  1571,  and  the  publi 
cations  of  the  missionaries  of  various  creeds ;  manu 
scripts,  vocabularies,  descriptions  of  the  customs  and 
traditions  of  the  Indians,  including  the  scarce  tracts 

o 

of  that  early  defender  of  the  aborigines,  Las  Casas, 
published  at  Seville  in  1552 ;  that  rarest  of  all 
American  books,  the  first  edition  of  Colden's  History 
of  the  Five  Nations,  published  at  New  York,  1727  ; 
Penhallow's  Indian  Wars ;  Doolittle's  Narrative  of 
the  Indian  Wars  on  the  Western  Frontiers  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  published  in  17 50 ;  Mather's  Troubles 
Among  the  Indians  in  New  England,  published  in 
1677 ;  and  History  of  the  Pequot  War — the  whole 
forming  a  contribution  to  Indian  history  and  philol 
ogy  of  the  greatest  value,  and  rarely  to  be  met  with 
either  in  America,  or  the  more  extensive  collections 
in  Europe. 

All  of  the  works  above  eumerated  are  rare  and 
valuable.  The  copy  of  the  Vocabulary  of  the  Indian 
language,  by  Roger  Williams,  once  belonged  to  the 
poet  Southey,  and  contains  his  autograph.  Of  the 
first  edition  of  Colden's  History  of  the  Five  Nations 
of  New  York,  but  two  copies  are  known — one  is  in 
the  possession  of  Mr.  Brinley,  of  Hartford,  and  the 


ME.  MURPHY'S  COLLECTION.  339 

other  in  Mr.  Murphy's  collection,  neither  of  which 
is  perfect. 

There  are  many  volumes  devoted  to  the  collections 
of  the  various  historical  societies,  town  histories, 
church  records,  family  genealogies,  and  incidents  of 
a  purely  local  character.  Among  these  are  "The 
Sufferings  of  the  People  of  God  (the  Quakers)  in 
New  England  and  among  the  Dutch,"  by  Fox,  pub 
lished  in  1659. 

Bishop's  New  England  Judged,  published  in 
1660 ;  Memorable  Providences  relating  to  Witch 
craft,  by  Cotton  Mather,  published  at  Boston,  in 
1689  ;  More  Wonders  of  the  Invisible  World,  by 
Kobert  Calef,  published  in  1700;  Journal  of  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Conspiracy  with  Slaves,  for 
Burning  the  City  of  New  York,  published  in  1774, 
with  others  of  a  like  character,  are  not  only  curious, 
but  highly  interesting,  as  developing  the  prejudices, 
superstitions  and  fears  which  agitated  the  breasts 
and  characterized  the  actions  of  many  of  the  early 
settlers  of  the  American  colonies.  We  claim  to 
have  advanced  in  science  and  general  cultivation, 
and  are  disposed  to  smile  at  the  incredulity  and 
sirnple-rnindedness  of  our  forefathers,  as  developed 
in  these  quaint  and  often  homely  narratives;  but 
with  the  Mathias  imposture  still  in  the  memory  of 
the  living,  the  more  recent  Miller  delusion,  the 


340  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

present  Mormon  blasphemy,  and  the  wild  vagaries 
of  clairvoyance  and  spirit-rapping,  can  we  say  that 
we  have  done  less  than  imitate  the  credulity  and 
timidity  of  our  ancestors,  if  we  have  not  absolutely 
taken  a  step  in  advance  of  them,  in  an  adherence  to 
delusive  theories  ? 

The  most  valuable  portion  of  the  library,  however, 
consists  in  its  early  or  scarce  works  on  general 
American  history.  Its  possessor  has  made  it  his  aim 
to  obtain  in  this  department  whatever  was  endowed 
with  original  historic  value,  not  for  the  purpose  of 
simply  gratifying  a  curiosity  for  such  works  as  are 
rare,  but  with  the  more  laudable  aim  of  ascertaining, 
as  accurately  as  possible,  the  facts  connected  with 
the  discovery  and  colonization  of  the  country,  in  the 
prosecution  of  which  inquiry  he  found  early  works 
and  editions  of  the  first  importance. 

This  department,  even  when  confined  to  the  more 
northern  part  of  the  United  States,  presents  a  broad 
and  extensive  field,  and  necessarily  includes  the 
principal  collections  of  voyages  and  travels  relating 
to  America,  together  with  many  works  which  inci 
dentally  refer  to  this  part  of  the  Union,  or  of  indi 
viduals  who  were  concerned  in  enterprises  relating 
thereto.  Among  the  works  in  this  department  are  the 
three  folio  volumes  of  Eamusio,  with  maps,  the  first 
of  which  appeared  at  Venice  in  1563,  the  second  in 


MR.    MURPHY  8    COLLECTION.  341 

1559,  and  the  third  in  1565;  Eden's  Decades  of 
Peter  Martyr,  1555 ;  Eden's  Travels,  completed  by 
Willes,  1577  ;  De  Bry's  Grands  et  Petits  Voyages, 
of  the  first  editions,  with  the  elenclius,  an  account  of 
which  was  given  in  Mr.  Barton's  collection;  Hak- 
luyt,  of  the  editions  of  1589,  1599,  1600,  and  1812; 
Purchas,  "  His  Pilgrimes,"  1625-6 ;  Recueil  de  Voyages 
de  M.  Thevenot,  published  in  1682 — a  very  rare 
work ;  Valentyn's  East  and  West  Indies,  in  5  vols. 
folio,  published  in  1724;  the  collections  of  Church 
ill,  Harris,  Astley  and  others,  among  which  is  the 
very  rare  Cosmographies  Introductio  in  Quatuor 
Americi  Vespucii  Navigationes,  published  at  St. 
Diey  in  1507. 

Humboldt,  in  the  fourth  volume  of  Histoire  de  la 
Geog.  dii  Noaveau  Continent,  page  100,  says :  "  This 
extremely  rare  book,  the  existence  of  which  was  un 
known  to  Robertson  and  Munoz,  has  occupied  me 
much  of  late  years.  It  offers  the  double  interest  of 
a  first  publication  of  all  the  voyages  of  Vespucius, 
and  contains  the  first  suggestion  of  giving  to  the 
New  World  the  name  of  America."  He  further 
adds,  that  there  is  no  copy  of  the  work  in  the  Biblio- 
theque  Royale  de  Paris,  and  speaks  of  one  in  the 
library  of  the  Vatican  at  Rome,  cited  by  Foscarini, 
and  the  one  to  which  he  had  access  in  the  Royal 
Library  at  Berlin. 


342  LIBKAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

The  copy  in  Mr.  Murphy's  library  is  a  very  fine 
one,  on  large  paper,  with  rough  edges,  handsomely 
bound  in  morocco,  and  in  an  excellent  state  of  pres 
ervation, 

In  addition  to  the  collection  of  general  voyages 
are  many  special  ones  of  much  value,  as  the  Histoire 
de  la  Floride,  by  Basanier,  published  at  Paris  in 
1586,  written  at  the  request  of  Hakluyt,  in  which 
are  detailed  the  attempts  of  the  French  to  colonize 
Florida,  Lescarbot's  New  France,  with  Erondelle's 
translation,  and  the  very  rare  and  fully  illustrated 
edition  of  Les  Voyages  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  fait 
par  le  Sr.  De  Cliamplain,  of  1613  ;  also  that  of  1619, 
and  that  of  1632,  containing  the  large  map  of  New 
France.  The  contents  of  each  of  these  editions  are 
different,  and  the  whole  are  absolutely  necessary  to 
a  complete  account  of  the  discoveries  of  this  cele 
brated  voyageur.  The  first  voyage  of  Champlairi, 
made  in  1603,  and  published  separately  in  the  fol 
lowing  year,  is  so  rare  as  to  be  almost  unattainable. 
A  translation  of  it,  however,  may  be  found  in  Pur- 
chas,  and  in  this  form  is  in  the  collection.  The 
edition  of  1613  is,  after  this,  the  most  rare,  and  is  the 
only  one  which  contains  full  accounts  of  his  second, 
third,  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  voyages. 

In  addition  to  these  are  Mourns  Relation  or  Jour- 
nale  of  the  English  Plantation  at  Plymouth,  in  New 


ME.  MURPHY'S  COLLECTION.  343 

England,  published  at  London,  in  1622 ;  Winslow's 
Good  News  from  New  England,  published  in  1624 ; 
Sir  William  Alexander's  Encouragement  to  Colonies, 
1624  ;  a  fine  large-paper  copy  of  Captain  John 
Smith's  History  of  Virginia,  with  the  maps  and 
plates ;  and  all  of  De  Laet's  works,  including  the 
Besclirijvinglie  van  West-Indien,  of  1630,  which  con 
tains  an  account  of  the  purchase  of  the  Island  of 
Manhattan,  on  which  New  York  city  now  stands, 
from  the  Indians  ;  likewise  the  North  -  West  Fox,  by 
Captain  Luke  Foxe,  1635;  and  Karte  Historiad  ende 
Journaels,  by  De  Vries,  which  is  very  rare.  A  trans 
lation  of  this  work  has  been  made  by  the  possessor 
of  the  library. 

In  addition  to  these  are  Van  der  Donck's  Nieuw 
Nederlant,  published  at  Amsterdam  in  1656  ;  Ferdi- 
nando  Gorges's  America  Painted  to  the  Life,  1657; 
Descriptio  ac  Delineatio  Geograpliica,  published  at 
Amsterdam  in  1612,  in  which  is  contained  an  account 
of  Hudson's  last  voyage  and  death ;  Boucher's  His- 
toire  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  published  at  Paris,  1664 ; 
His-toria  Canadensis,  by  Father  Creuxius,  published 
in  the  same  year ;  and  Denton's  Description  of  New 
York,  published  in  London  in  1670,  being  the  first 
distinct  account  in  the  English  language  of  this 
colony ;  also,  Thomas's  Account  of  Pennsylvania 
and  New  Jersey,  published  in  1698  ;  Falkner's  Penn- 


344  LIBKAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

sylvania,  printed  at  Frankfort,  1702  ;  Campanius's 
New  Sweden,  1702  ;  Acrelius's  Sweden,  1759,  and  a 
large  number  of  others  relating  to  the  Dutch  and 
Swedish  settlements  in  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and 
Pennsylvania. 

Among  the  rarities  in  this  department  is  the  Au- 
suhrliclier  Bericht  der  India- Compagnien  in  Scliwe- 
den,  by  William  Usselincx,  published  at  Stockholm 
in  1626.  The  exertions  of  the  writer  of  this  work 
in  establishing  the  Dutch  and  Swedish  West  India 
Companies,  are  well  known.  This  work  was  repub- 
lished  in  the  Argonautica  Gusto/viand,  issued  at 
Frankfort  in  1633.  This  work,  which  is  in  folio,  and 
rare,  is  likewise  in  Mr.  Murphy's  collection.  Another 
curious  volume  is  the  Breviate  in  Chancery,  on  the 
part  of  the  plaintiff  in  the  case  of  Penn  against 
Charles  Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore,  in  regard  to  the 
boundaries  of  their  proprietary  lands.  This  is  a 
large  folio  volume,  accompanied  by  maps,  containing 
all  the  evidence,  documentary  arid  oral,  from  the  lips 
of  the  oldest  inhabitants,  in  relation  to  the  first  set 
tlements  on  the  Delaware,  by  the  Dutch,  Swedes  and 
others,  collected  as  early  as  1742.  This  dispute 
gave  rise  to  the  running  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line,  by  those  two  distinguished  surveyors,  which 
has  since  grown  into  such  importance  as  a  divid 
ing  line  between  two  distinct  interests  in  the 


ME.  MURPHY'S  COLLECTION.  345 

Union,  beyond   the   limits   of  the   states  which   it 
separates. 

The  collection  contains  many  rare  and  curious 
atlases,  and,  among  others,  maps  of  America  by  Orte- 
lius  and  the  Brothers  Blaeu;  of  New  Netherlands 
by  Visscher,  and  of  New  York  by  Ratzer  and  others, 
all  of  which  are  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation. 

Although  the  library  has  been  formed  for  the 
specific  purpose  of  bringing  together  works  upon 
particular  subjects  which  have  been  selected  for  their 
contents,  yet  there  are  many  not  without  interest  in 
the  eyes  of  the  book-collector.  Of  these  is  a  tall 
copy  of  Mather's  Magnalia,  of  the  original  edition  of 
1702,  with  maps ;  a  clear  and  perfect  copy  of  the 
first  edition  of  the  laws  of  New  Jersey,  printed  by 
Bradford,  at  New  York,  in  1709  ;  a  presentation 
copy  of  the  original  privately  printed  edition  of  Jef 
ferson's  Notes  on  Virginia,  with  his  autograph ;  a 
presentation  copy  of  Cadmus,  to  General  Washing 
ton,  with  Washington's  autograph  on  the  title-page ; 
a  volume  presented  to  Mr.  Murphy  by  Colonel  George 
Washington ;  and  an  excellent  copy  of  the  original 
Cow  Chase,  by  Major  Andre,  printed  by  Rivington 
in  1780. 

There  are  in  the  collection  some  rare  books,  printed 
in  New  York,  of  comparatively  recent  date,  among 

which  is  Captain  Barnard  Roman's  Natural  History 
44 


346  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 


of  Florida,  published  in  17^5,  written  witli  such  ac 
curacy  that  later  researches  have  added  but  little  to 
the  facts  which  it  contains.  The  widow  of  Roman, 
who  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  died  in  New  York  a  few 
years  since.  Also,  a  perfect  copy  of  the  New  York 
Magazine,  published  in  1^90-'97,  in  eight  volumes, 
which  is  so  rare  as  not  to  be  found  in  the  public 
libraries.  It  is  a  valuable  work  as  a  remembrancer 
of  New  York,  and  contains  some  curious  prints  of 
New  York  during  the  last  century.  It  may  be  re 
marked,  as  illustrating  the  rarity  of  the  works  in 
this  collection,  that  the  library  of  the  New  York 
Historical  Society,  which  numbers  upward  of 
twenty  thousand  volumes,  contains  but  few  of  those 
enumerated  in  the  present  collection,  for  the  reason 
that  their  rarity  and  the  high  price  they  command 
in  market,  places  their  purchase  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  society. 


WILLIAM  CURTIS  NOYES'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  collection  numbers  nearly  seven  thousand 
volumes,  of  which  about  five  thousand  are  law  books, 
and  the  residue  miscellaneous.  They  have  been 
collected  during  a  practice  of  over  twenty-five  years. 
It  consists  of  all  the  American  Reports,  with  scarcely 
an  exception,  down  to  the  present  time,  including 
those  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  containing  Virginia  General 
Court  cases  from  1730  to  1740,  and  from  1768  to 
1772;  of  all  the  English  Reports  in  the  Courts  of 
Law  and  Chancery,  and  in  the  Exchequer,  down  to 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1860,  and  all  the  Scotch 
decisions  in  the  Justiciary,  Session  Courts,  and  House 
of  Lords,  and  the  Irish  Reports  in  law  and  equity ; 
the  Scotch,  including  Morrison's  Dictionary  of  Decis 
ions,  in  23  vols. ;  all  the  Faculty  Decisions,  in  21 
vols. ;  Stairs  &  Erskine's  Institutes ;  Brown's  Sy 
nopsis  of  the  Decisions  of  the  Court  of  Session  ;  and 
the  Scottish  Jurist ;  the  latter  quite  a  rare  book  in 
this  country,  bringing  down  the  series  to  the  year 
1858.  All  the  old  English  reporters,  in  folio,  will 


348  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

be  found  in  it,  from  the  Year  Books,  and  Rolle's, 
Brookes's,  Fitzherbert's,  Sheppard's,  Viner's  and  Pe- 
tersdorf 's  Abridgments,  and  the  Natura  Breviwn. 
In  Elementary  Law  it  contains  all  the  principal 
treatises  in  England  and  America,  among  which  is 
the  "  Law  Library,"  in  all  the  series,  in  upward  of 
ninety  volumes. 

Among  its  rare  volumes  are  all  the  Dome's  Day 
Books,  including  the  Exon  Dome's  Day,  the  Bolden 
Book,  &c. ;  Kelham's  and  Sir  Henry  Ellis's  Domes 
day  Book ;  a  complete  copy  of  the  Statutes  at  Large 
in  England,  down  to  the  close  of  the  last  session  of 
Parliament,  in  78  vols. ;  the  Ancient  Laws  and  Insti 
tutes  of  England  and  Wales  ;  the  London  Jurist,  in 

<_>  /  7 

45  vols. ;  the  Law  Journal,  complete  from  the  com 
mencement,  in  upward  of  50  vols. ;  all  the  Ancient 
and  Modern  State  Trials,  and  all  the  Reports  and 
standard  works  in  criminal,  and  in  short,  every 
thing  in  the  English  common  law,  both  civil  and 
criminal,  and  in  equity,  with  the  earlier  treatises ; 
the  Mirror,  Glanville,  Bracton,  Fortescue,  and  Fleta. 
It  contains  a  considerable  collection  of  codes,  among 
which  are  the  Chinese  and  Gentoo.  The  Frederician 
Code,  and  Strange's  &  Colebrooke's  Hindoo  Law ; 
Borradaile's  Reports  of  Civil  Causes,  adjudicated 
in  the  Court  of  Sudur  TJdalut,  in  the  Presidency  of 
Bombay,  2  vols.  folio;  Perry's  Oriental  Cases,  de- 


ME.    NOYES'S    COLLECTION.  349 

cided  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Bombay.  In  these 
cases,  which  appear  to  have  been  considered  with  great 
care,  are  to.  be  found  decisions  on  Parsi  marriages, 
Mahomedan  succession,  the  celebrated  opium  cases, 
involving  the  law  of  wagers  upon  the  market  price 
of  opium,  the  liabilities  of  the  East  India  Com 
pany,  the  Bombay  land  tenures,  the  law  of  adoption, 
the  Hindoo  succession  and  devises  to  charity  under 
the  Hindoo  religion;  also,  Ordinances  of  Menu, 
according  to  the  Gloss  of  Culluca,  translated  from 
the  Sanscrit,  by  Sir  William  Jones,  and  McNaugh- 
ten's  Principles  of  Hindoo  and  Mahomedan  law, 
embracing  a  chapter  on  Stridhan,  or  woman's  sepa 
rate  property,  from  which  it  appears  that  long  before 
similar  enactments  in  Christian  countries,  the  rights 
of  married  women  in  regard  to  property  were  care 
fully  protected  by  the  Hindoo  law. 

There  is  also  a  copy  of  Beugnot's  Assizes  de  Jeru 
salem,  2  vols,  folio,  Paris,  1841.  This  work,  which 
is  very  learnedly  annotated,  contains  an  account  of 
the  works  on  Jurisprudence  written  in  the  XIHth 
century,  and  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem 
and  Cyprus,  during  their  existence  in  the  time  of  the 
crusades. 

Among  the  legal  curiosities  is  a  perfect  copy  of 
Statham's  Abridgment,  the  first  book  of  English 
law  ever  printed,  which  bears  the  imprint  of  R. 


350  LIBEAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

Pynson,  and  was  printed  at  Rouen,  France,  in  black 
letter,  A.  D.  1470.  This  work  is  full  of  marginal 
annotations,  by  an  old  black-letter  lawyer.  A  beau 
tiful  copy  of  Le  Grand  Costumier  du  Pays,  Duclie 
de  Normandie,  printed  in  1539,  both  of  which  are 
in  a  fine  state  of  preservation.  A  copy  of  Hughes's 
Nomotaniia,  being  a  survey  of  the  general  titles  of 
the  common  law,  printed  in  1657,  and  "  done  into 
English  for  the  benefit  of  younger  students."  The 
Bracton  appears  to  have  been  owned  by  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carollton,  and  contains  his  book-plate. 
There  is  a  copy  of  Palmer's  Reports,  with  the  book 
plate  and  autograph  of  Daniel  O'Connell,  the  great 
Irish  orator ;  also  several  volumes  from  Lord  Lynd- 
hurst's  library.  Another  is  Dugdale's  Origines  Ju- 
diciales,  the  edition  of  1671,  the  most  accurate  now 
extant,  as  most  of  the  copies  of  the  edition  of  1666? 
the  first,  were  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  in  London, 
the  same  year.  Spelman's  Glossary,  the  edition  of 
1687,  is  also  found  in  it ;  the  Great  Oyer  of  Poison 
ing,  by  Amos,  containing  the  trial  of  the  Earl  of 
Somerset  for  the  poisoning  of  Sir  Thomas  Overbury 
with  admirably  executed  engravings  of  Sir  Thomas 
Overbury  and  the  Countess  of  Somerset. 

Among  the  curiosities  of  law,  may  be  mentioned 
Jardine's  Use  of  Torture  in  the  criminal  law  of  Eng 
land,  in  which  it  is  shown  that  the  practice  was  dis- 


MR.    NO  YES'S    COLLECTION.  351 

continued  during  the  protectorate  of  Cromwell,  and 
was  never  afterward  revived;  likewise  Jardine's 
criminal  trials,  containing  among  others  that  of  Gruy 
Foukes,  in  which  it  appears  that  Lord  Coke,  then 
attorney-general,  was  one  of  the  commissioners  who 
directed  the  torture  of  the  prisoner.  The  library  has 
also  Cowell's  "  Interpreter,  or  Booke  containing  the 
Signification  of  Words:  wherein  is  set  foorth  the 
true  meaning  of  such  words  and  terms,  as  are  men 
tioned  in  the  law-writers  of  this  victorious  and 
renowned  kingdom,  requiring  any  exposition  or 
interpretation."  1637.  This  work  met  with  the 
disapprobation  of  Coke,  who  thought  he  discovered 
dangerous  doctrines  under  the  titles  "  Subsidy," 
"Parliament,"  "King,"  "Prohibition,"  &c.  The 
author  was  also  charged  with  vilifying  Littleton's 
Tenures — an  unpardonable  offence  with  Coke ;  who, 
instigated  also  by  his  hatred  of  the  civilians,  had 
him  thrown  into  prison,  with  a  threat  of  being 
hanged  and  his  work  suppressed  by  royal  proclama 
tion  and  publicly  burned.  This  is  the  original  edi 
tion;  that  of  1638  was  purged  of  the  objectionable 
passages. 

In  Ecclesiastical  Law  are  found  all  the  reports 
and  treatises  in  England,  down  to  the  present  year; 
Ought  on' s  Or  do  Judieiorum,  edition  of  1788  ;  and  a 
fine  copy  of  Gibson's  Codex,  a  leading  authority  in 


352  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

all  such  matters,  of  the  edition  of  1761 ;  with  Ay- 
liffe's  Par  erg  on  Juris  Canonici  Anglicini,  the  edi 
tion  of  1734 — a  beautiful  copy. 

In  Civil  and  Admiralty  Law,  are  two  copies  of  the 
Corpus  Juris  Cimlis,  one  by  the  Elzevirs ;  the  Co 
dex  Tlieodosianus,  of  the  edition  of  Gothofredi  and 
Bitter,  in  three  large  folio  volumes,  bound  in  vellum ; 
Ayliffe's  New  Pandect  of  Roman  civil  law  ;  Domat ; 
Voet ;  Vinnius ;  Huberus ;  the  life  and  works  of  Sir 
Leoline  Jenkins,  and  a  fine  copy  of  Pardessus,  the  best 
edition,  in  6  vols.  large  quarto ;  Sir  Thomas  Ridley's 
view  of  the  Civil  and  Ecclesiastical  Law,  "  wherby  the 
practice  of  them  is  straitned,  and  may  be  relieved 
within  this  land" — a  book  which  was  much  admired 
by  King  James,  and  which  revived  the  declining  credit 
of  those  jurisdictions — edition  of  1662  ;  Dr.  Fer- 
riere's  History  of  Roman  Law,  a  rare  book,  published 
in  English  in  1724  ;  Burke's  Historical  Essay  on  the 
Laws  and  Government  of  Rome,  of  which  a  compe 
tent  authority  has  said  "  that  it  is  the  best  historical 
view  of  the  Roman  Constitution  that  has  yet  ap 
peared  from  the  hands  of  any  English  civilian  or 
historian."  There  is  also  a  copy  of  Calvin's  Lexicon, 
Geneva  edition  of  1584.  There  is  a  tolerable  col 
lection  of  French  law,  including  Dupin's  Droit  Ec- 
desiastique  ;  the  Causes  Celebres ;  Emerigon;  Po- 
thier;  Aluzet;  Boulay  Paty ;  Grun  &  Joliet;  and 


MR.  NO  YES'S  COLLECTION.  353 

Quenault ;  Merlin's  Repertoire  of  Jurisprudence,  in 
19  vols. ;  the  works  of  Chancellor  D'Agesseau,  in 
16  vols. ;  and  the  Concordance  of  Codes  Civilis 
E^Transgres  et  la  Code  Napoleon,  by  St.  Joseph. 
Paris,  1856,  in  4  vols. ;  and  the  Coutumes  de  la  P re- 
vote  and  Vicompte  de  Paris,  edition  of  1777,  with 
Denisart's  Collections  in  Jurisprudence,  4  vols.  It 
also  embraces  a  copy  of  the  last  and  best  edition  of 
the  Corpus  Juris  Canonici,  by  Bitcher,  Leipsic  edi 
tion  of  1839,  in  which  are  found  the  decrees  of  the 
famous  Council  of  Trent ;  and  Exton's  Maritime  Di- 
coelogie,  or  Sea  Jurisdiction  of  England. 

It  contains  a  complete  set,  in  upward  of  seventy 
volumes,  of  the  printed  statutes  of  the  colony  and 
state  of  New  York,  including  the  session  laws  from 
the  earliest  period,  commencing  with  a  copy  of 
Bradford's,  printed  in  London,  in  1719,  which  for 
merly  belonged  to  Lord  De  la  Warr,  and  seems  to 
have  come  from  the  plantation  office  in  the  colony. 

There  is  hardly  any  law  book  which  a  lawyer  in 
large  practice  may  have  occasion  to  consult,  that 
may  not  be  found  in  this  collection. 

The  Miscellaneous  Library  contains  about  two 
thousand  volumes,  and  is  rich  in  Dictionaries  and 
books  of  reference.  It  contains  among  others,  Bayle's 
great  Dictionary,  in  10  vols.  folio ;  Phillips's  New 

World  of  Words,  edition  of  1678,  distinguished  as 
45 


354  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

being  collected  by  a  nephew  of  Milton.  Wood,  in 
his  Atlience  Owon.,  describes  him  as  the  nephew  of 
"  that  villainous  leading  incendiary,  Joh.  Milton,  his 
uncle."  A  copy  of  the  first  edition  of  Johnson's 
Dictionary,  in  2  vols.  folio,  published  in  1755.  This 
contains  the  preface  in  which  he  concludes  with  the 
well  known  words  :  "  I  have  protracted  my  work 
till  most  of  those  whom  I  wished  to  please  have  sunk 
into  the  grave,  and  success  and  miscarriage  are  empty 
sounds.  I  therefore  dismiss  it  with  frigid  tranquil 
lity,  having  little  to  fear  or  hope  from  censure  or  from 
praise."  The  first  volume  has  a  fine  portrait  of  the 
great  lexicographer,  one  of  the  earliest  ever  pub 
lished  ;  and  both  volumes  have  numerous  marginal 
MS.  notes  of  words  omitted,  and  observations  on 
the  Doctor's  definitions,  the  work  of  a  contemporary, 
an  eminent  surgeon  of  his  time. 

The  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  in  21  vols.,  forms  a 
part  of  the  collection ;  also,  the  great  work  of 
Du  Cange,  Glossarium  Medicv  et  infime  Latinitatis, 
by  Carpenterii  and  Henschel,  edition  of  1842,  7 
vols.  4to.,  Leipsic.  There  is  also  a  complete  copy 
of  the  works  of  Sylvester,  including  his  translations 
from  Du  Bartas  (perfect  except  title-page),  Young's 
edition,  1633;  containing  "Tobacco  battered,  and 
the  Pipes  shattered,  by  a  volley  of  hot  shot  thundered 
from  Mount  Helicon,"  and  other  very  curious  matter. 


ME.  NO  YES'S  COLLECTION.  355 

Among  the  books  of  travel  there  are  found  Sir 
John  Mandeville's  in  Palestine  and  the  far  Cathay; 
Maundrel's  in  the  Holy  Land ;  those  of  Irby  and 
Mangles  in  Egypt,  Nubia  and  Syria,  printed  for  pri 
vate  circulation  ;  and  Chateaubriand's  over  the  same 
region ;  Bartram's  Travels  in  North  and  South  Car 
olina  and  Georgia,  at  the  close  of  the  last  century ; 
and  of  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux  in  America, 
during  and  immediately  succeeding  the  revolution 
ary  war ;  the  last  of  which  contains  a  graphic  ac 
count  of  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  in  which  the  Mar 
quis  participated. 

In  Poetry  there  is  a  complete  set  of  the  older 
English  poets,  in  21  vols.,  Chalmers's  edition,  with 
Johnson's  and  Chalmers's  lives ;  a  beautiful  copy  of 
Piers  Ploughman ;  Campbell's  Ossian,  being  a  pre 
sentation  copy  to  Lord  Jeffrey ;  Percy's  Reliques  of 
Ancient  Poetry ;  several  copies  of  Shakespeare,  with 
a  fac-simile  of  the  first  folio  edition  of  1623;  also 
the  Satirical  Poems  of  Antony  Pasquin.  This  book 
is  not  mentioned  by  Lowndes.  The  true  name 
of  this  author  was  Williams,  who  obtained  some 
celebrity  by  prosecuting  a  claim  for  libel  before 
Lord  Kenyon,  in  1797,  in  which  this  distinguished 
judge  held  that  he  could  not  recover,  because  he  was 
by  profession  a  common  libeller ;  very  questionable 
doctrine  even  in  this  day  of  unlicensed  printing. 


356  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

This  work  contains  "  The  Children  of  Thespis ;  a 
poem,"  in  three  parts,  first  published  in  1785.  It  is 
an  elaborate  and  highly  satirical  description  of  all 
the  prominent  actors  and  actresses  of  that  distin 
guished  era  of  the  stage.  Those  of  Mr.  Siddons, 
Mrs.  Farren  (afterward  Lady  Derby),  and  Mrs.  Jor 
dan,  are  excellent  specimens  of  composition,  and  the 
merits  and  peculiarities  of  each  are  given  with  great 
effect.  A  single  minor  poem  of  this  author,  will, 
however,  give  him  an  immortality  which  all  his 
other  works  might  have  failed  to  secure.  In  reply 
to  a  reproach  for  not  weeping  over  the  grave  of  a 
female  friend,  he  wrote  the  following  which  has 
been  translated  into  most  modern  languages  : 

"  Cold  drops  the  tear  that  blazons  common  woe, 

What  callous  rock  retains  its  crystal  rill  ? 
Ne'er  will  the  softened  mould  its  liquid  show, 
Deep  sink  the  waters  that  are  smooth  and  still. 

"  Oh  !  when  sublimely  agonized  I  stood, 

And  memory  gave  her  beauteous  frame  a  sigh  ; 
While  feeling  triumphed  in  rny  heart's  warm  blood, 
Grief  drank  the  offering  ere  it  reached  the  eye." 

In  History  the  library  contains  a  copy  of  the 
Spanish  historian,  Bernal  Dias ;  Colden's  History  of 
Canada,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  of  the  Six  Na 
tions  ;  and  other  old  works  ;  Camden's  Britannia,  the 
edition  of  Gibson,  of  1695 ;  and  Maitland's  Illus- 


ME.    NOYES'S    COLLECTION.  357 

trated  History  of  London,  in  2  vols.  folio,  the  edition 
of  1756;  Palgrave's  History  of  Normandy;  Pal- 
grave's  English  Commonwealth,  2  vols.  4to. ;  and 
Palgrave's  Essay  on  the  Original  Authority  of  the 
King's  Council.  This  constituted  originally  the 
highest  court,  out  of  which  grew  the  Court  of  Chan 
cery,  and  at  a  later  period  the  judicial  committee  of 
the  Privy  Council,  now  the  highest  court  of  appeal 
in  civil  and  criminal  cases  from  all  the  courts  in  the 
colonies  of  Great  Britain. 

There  is  a  fine  copy  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole's 
works,  in  five  large  quarto  volumes,  embellished 
with  plates.  Most  of  the  English  histories  are  found 
in  it,  beginning  with  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  Rapin, 
<fec ,  and  all  the  standard  histories  of  the  United 
States;  Belknap's  New  Hampshire;  Smith's  New 
York  ;  Arnold's  Rhode  Island,  &c. 

In  Biography  the  collection  is  quite  extensive, 
particularly  in  American  works.  It  contains  a  fine 
copy  of  the  Naturalist's  Library,  in  40  vols.,  illus 
trated  with  colored  plates.  There  are  also  Milton's 
poetical  and  prose  works;  Bacon's,  Swift's,  and 
Johnson's  works  ;  the  British  Essayists,  in  36  vols. ; 
Warton's  History  of  English  Poetry,  &c. 

Among  its  curiosities  in  classical  literature,  is  a 
copy  of  Cato's  Morals,  from  the  library  of  the  Duke 
of  Sussex,  printed  in  1488,  by  Kesler ;  and  a  copy  of 


358  LIBRARIES    OF   NEW    YORK. 

Virgil,  with  the  annotations  of  Johannes  Hartungi, 
printed  at  Basle  in  1551.  There  is  also  a  copy  in 
small  folio  of  Hooker's  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  in  five 
books,  the  edition  of  1617,  London,  printed  by  Will 
Stainsby ;  which  seems  not  to  have  been  known  to 
Lowndes,  no  notice  of  it  being  found  in  his  elaborate 
work.  To  this  are  added  seven  treatises  or  dis 
courses,  printed  by  the  same  in  1622,  containing  "  Mas 
ter  Hooker's  Answer  to  the  Supplication  of  Master 
Travers ;  "  A  Learned  Discourse  on  Justification  and 
Workes ;"  "  A  Learned  Sermon  of  the  Nature  of 
Pride  ;"  "A  Remedy  against  Sorrow  and  Feare,"  &c. 
The  collection  of  pamphlets  is  extensive,  embra 
cing  over  forty  volumes,  relating  to  the  political  and 
civil  history  of  the  times.  In  the  early  volumes  are 
found  the  "  Prospect  Before  Us,"  a  partisan  attack 
upon  John  Adams's  administration,  very  denuncia 
tory  and  untruthful,  in  regard  to  which  Callender 
was  indicted  for  a  libel,  and  which  led  to  the  im 
peachment  of  Judge  Chase,  who  presided  at  his 
trial ;  and  the  celebrated  pamphlet  of  General  Ham 
ilton,  in  defence  of  the  charge  of  speculation  while 
he  was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  published  in  1797. 
This  discloses  many  interesting  facts ;  among  others, 
that  a  challenge  was  given  by  General  Hamilton  to 
Mr.  Monroe,  who  accepted,  and  chose  Colonel  Burr, 
by  whose  hand  Hamilton  subsequently  fell,  as  his 


MR.  NO  YES'S  COLLECTION.  359 

second.  Happily  the  hostile  meeting  did  not  take 
place. 

In  periodical  literature  are  found  the  Edinburgh 
and  Quarterly  Eeviews ;  the  English  Annual  Regis 
ter  ;  Christian  Spectator ;  Biblical  Repository,  &c. 

There  is  also  a  copy  of  the  first  work  of  Mr.  Burke, 
published  anonymously  in  1758,  entitled,  "An  Ac 
count  of  the  European  Settlements  in  America ;" 
Johnson's  Typographia;  Sir  Gardiner  Wilkinson's 
works  on  Egypt ;  Hone's  Every-day  and  Year  Book ; 
Wade's  British  History,  chronologically  arranged, 
<fec.,  &c. 

There  is  a  beautiful  copy  of  Sir  Thomas  More's 
Utopia,  of  the  edition  of  Dibdin;  a  copy  of  the 
works  of  Selden,  Wilkins's  edition  of  1726,  in  six 
folio  volumes  ;  and  also  a  copy  of  old  Antony  Wood's 
A  thence  Oxonienses  ]  Sir  Thomas  Browne's  works; 
Mather's  Magnalia ;  Burton's  Anatomy  of  Melan 
choly  ;  Sir  William  Temple's  works ;  Tooke's  Diver 
sions  of  Purley;  and  a  beautiful  edition  of  the 
works  of  the  unfortunate  General  Burgoyne,  in  which 
are  found  the  celebrated  lines  to  the  memory  of  his 
wife,  beginning — 

"  Encompassed  in  an  angel's  frame, 
An  angel's  virtues  lay ;"  &c. 

Most  of  the  works  in  this  library  are  of  the  best 


360  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

editions,  and  many  in  handsome  bindings.  In  that 
portion  of  the  collection  devoted  to  Jurisprudence, 
the  selection  has  been  made  with  unusual  care.  Be 
sides  most  of  the  works  which  an  extensive  practice 
renders  necessary  for  reference,  the  legal  scholar  will 
find  many  rare  and  valuable  curiosities. 


GEORGE  W.  PRATT'S  LIBRARY. 


COLONEL  PEATT'S  library  contains  between  seven 
and  eight  thousand  volumes,  among  which  are  many 
valuable  works  in  several  departments  of  literature, 
but  the  prominent,  as  well  as  the  more  notable 
feature  of  the  library,  is  its  collection  of  works  in 
Oriental  languages,  or  relating  to  Oriental  subjects, 
and  upon  Historical  and  Archaeological  literature. 

The  Oriental  department  contains  about  three  thou 
sand  volumes,  and  although  it  does  not  aim  at  any 
"  specialty"  in  Oriental  literature,  nor  at  complete 
ness  in  any  one  department,  has  some  of  the  best 
works  on  the  subjects  of  which  they  treat,  as  well 
as  many  that  are  curious  and  rare ;  among  these  are 
the  rare  geographical  work  entitled  Jehan  Numah, 
by  Hajji  Khalfa,  printed  at  ^Constantinople  in  1732. 
This  is  one  of  the  earliest  books  printed  in  Turkey, 
and  is  upon  better  paper  than  that  used  for  the  same 
purpose  in  Constantinople  at  the  present  day.  It 
contains  many  rare  maps,  still  looked  upon  with 

much  interest.     The  Koran,  printed  in  folio  at  St. 
46 


362  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Petersburg!!  in  1787,  under  the  patronage  and  at 
the  expense  of  the  Empress  Catherine,  is  also  in  the 
collection.  This  copy,  which  bears  no  date,  once 
belonged  to  the  celebrated  French  Orientalist,  Lan- 
gles,  to  whom  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  Oriental  manuscripts  in  the  royal  library 
at  Paris.  He  had  greatly  distinguished  himself  as  an 
Oriental  scholar  and  writer,  and  was  appointed  in 
1792  keeper  of  the  Oriental  manuscripts  in  the 
Royal  Library.  He  had  hardly  entered  upon  his  du 
ties,  when  the  Directory  ordered  him  to  surrender  all 
books,  either  printed  or  in  manuscript,  in  the  collec 
tion  relating  to  genealogy.  Perceiving  the  spirit  of 
Vandalism  in  which  the  demand  was  made,  he  asked 
for  time,  on  account  of  the  magnitude  of  the  under 
taking,  and  having  obtained  this  request,  hastily 
secreted  the  most  valuable  documents  in  a  place 
where  search  was  not  likely  to  be  made.  He  then 
delivered  over  a  vast  number  of  duplicate  copies 
and  ponderous  volumes  of  useless  material,  and  espec 
ially  works  on  polemic  divinity.  These  were  taken 
in  triumph  to  the  Place  Vendome,  and  burned  in 
the  name  of  "Liberty  and  Equality."  By  this 
happy  expedient,  he  saved  from  destruction  about 
five  thousand  volumes  and  a  large  number  of  docu 
ments  which  could  not  be  replaced,  illustrative  of 
national  history.  A  memoir,  read  by  him  before  the 


MR.  PEATT'S  COLLECTION.  363 

French  Institute  on  the  occasion  of  his  admission 
into  that  body  as  a  member,  on  the  importance  of 
Egypt,  first  suggested  to  Bonaparte  the  idea  of  the 
expedition  to  that  country,  which  has  been  crowned 
with  such  happy  scientific  results. 

There  is  an  exquisitely  written  Koran,  with  a 
Persian  interlineary  translation  and  a  profuse  com 
mentary  in  Arabic. 

The  library  contains  a  number  of  Arabic  Lexi 
cons,  among  which  is  a  manuscript  of  that  of  the 
famous  Persian  and  scholar,  Firuzibadi,  called  El- 
Kamus,  or  the  Ocean,  and  the  rare  and  costly 
Calcutta  edition,  2  vols.  folio,  1817.  There  is  like 
wise  a  translation  of  this  valuable  dictionary  into 
Turkish,  printed  at  Constantinople  in  three  folio  vol 
umes.  Many  modern  European  writers,  aware  of  this 
deposit  of  original  information,  have  availed  them 
selves  of  the  learning  of  its  author.  This  is  espe 
cially  the  case  with  Bochart,  in  his  Hierosoicon,  or 
Natural  History  of  the  Bible.  Of  the  Arabic  lexicons 
by  European  scholars,  we  find  here  side  by  side,  the 
lexicon  of  Golius,  which  was  first  published  at  Ley- 
den  in  1653,  and  derived  in  large  measure  from  that 
celebrated  Arabic  dictionary,  Es-Siliali  of  Jauhari, 
and  the  last  and  most  useful  of  all,  that  of  Freytag, 
in  four  large  quarto  volumes,  and  colnpleted  within 
the  last  few  years. 


364  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

In  Persian,  we  find  Castell's  Lexicon  Heptaglotton, 
the  Persian  lexicon  of  which  was  previously  prepared 
by  Golius,  while  in  the  Arabic  portion,  he  very  far 
surpassed  Golius ;  and  also  the  Persian  Dictionary 
styled  Ha/t-Kalzum,  by  the  King  of  Oude,  pub 
lished  at  Lucknow  in  1822.  The  descendant  of  this 
learned  monarch,  it  will  be  remembered,  has  been 
summarily  ejected  from  his  kingdom  by  the  English. 
This  dictionary  of  Castell's,  in  seven  languages,  cost 
this  learned  antiquarian  eighteen  years  of  assiduous 
labor,  and  proved  ruinous  to  his  fortune,  having 
required  for  its  production  upward  of  $60,000.  It 
was  published  in  London,  1699,  in  2  vols.  folio. 
Bishop  Walton  acknowledges  his  assistance  in  ar 
ranging  his  Biblia  Polyglotta.  At  the  time  of  Cas- 
tell's  decease,  he  possessed  about  five  hundred  copies 
of  his  erudite  lexicon  which  had  remained  unsold. 
These  were  placed  by  Mrs.  Crisp,  his  niece  and  exec 
utrix,  in  a  room  in  one  of  her  tenant's  houses  at 
Martin,  in  Surrey,  where  for  many  years  they  lay 
undisturbed  by  human  hands,  but  at  the  mercy  of 
the  rats,  which  made  such  havoc  with  them,  that 
when  they  came  into  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Crisp's 
executors,  scarcely  a  complete  copy  could  be  found, 
and  so  entire  had  been  the  mutilation  that  the 
whole  remainder  brought  but  seven  pounds. 

There  is  also  the  dictionary  of  Persian,  so  much 


MR.  PRATT'S  COLLECTION.  365 

esteemed  by  the  natives,  entitled  the  Burlian-i- 
Katiali,  and  published  at  Constantinople,  A.  H. 
1212,  or  about  the  commencement  of  the  present 
century. 

In  Turkish  is  the  great  Dictionary  of  that  distin 
guished  Austrian  interpreter  at  the  Porte,  Meninski. 
It  is  in  four  volumes,  folio,  printed  at  Vienna  in 
1680,  and  is  at  the  same  time  almost  a  complete 
lexicon  to  the  Persian  and  Arabic.  The  definitions 
are  in  Latin,  Italian,  and  German. 

Among  general  eastern  works  are  Ludolph's  Jour 
ney  to  the  Holy  Land,  a  beautiful  specimen  of  early 
printing  in  Eggesteyn's  gothic  characters  ;  Lord  Va- 
lentia's  Travels,  and  many  of  the  works  of  Norden, 
Mebuhr,  Le  Brun,  Sandys,  Sir  John  Mandeville,  and 
Van  Linschoten,  folio,  London,  1598;  Forbes's  Orien 
tal  Memoirs,  containing  excellent  impressions  of  the 
numerous  plates  on  India ;  Prisse's  Oriental  Album, 
of  very  spirited  sketches  of  subjects  taken  in  Egypt, 
in  which  country  the  artist  resided  for  many  years ; 
and  a  curious  and  uncommon  book  in  this  country, 
and  not  often  met  in  Europe,  of  the  portraits  of  the 
Ottoman  Sultans,  by  John  Young.  The  operations 
at  the  Pyramids  of  Gizeh,  by  General  Vyse,  an  Eng 
lish  gentleman,  who  spent  vast  sums  upon  the  explo 
ration  of  the  pyramids  of  Lower  Egypt,  the  results 
of  which  are  here  detailed.  There  is  also  a  superb 


366  LIBE ARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

copy,  in  ten  folio  volumes  of  text,  and  twelve  ele- 
pliant-folio  volumes  of  plates,  of  the  Description 
de  UEgypte,  handsomely  bound,  and  probably  one  of 
the  most  desirable  copies  of  the  work  to  be  found  in 
any  private  collection  in  the  country. 

The  Calcutta  edition  in  4  vols.  8vo.,  1839,  of  the 
Arabian  Nights — the  best  Arabic  text — is  now  scarce. 
Of  the  lexicons,  grammars,  and  apparatus  for  lin- 
guistical  studies,  of  which  there  is  something  upon  a 
hundred  or  more  languages,  we  may  notice  the 
Basque  dictionary  of  Padre  Larramehdi,  printed  at 
San  Sebastian  in  1745;  Delia  Bella's  Die.  Italiano- 
Latino-IlliricOi  2  vols.  4to.,  Ragusa,  1Y85 ;  Bridge- 
man's  Chinese  Chrestomathy  (Canton  dialect),  Ma 
cao,  1841;  Adelung's  Miihridates ;  Champollion's 
Gr.  Egyptienne  and  Precis ;  Haughton's  Bengali 
and  Sanskrit  Dictionary ;  Marsden's  Malay  Gr.  and 
Dictionary ;  Pigneaux  and  Taberd's  Die.  Anami- 
tico-Latinum,  in  2  vols.  4to.,  Serampore,  1838,  <fec., 
&c.  The  class  of  Tartar  tongues  is  quite  well  sup 
plied.  We  have  Kow^alewski's  Gr.  and  Dictionary, 
published  at  Kasan  in  Kussia,  Klaproth,  von  der 
Gabelenz,  Abel  Kemusat,  Schmidt,  Wiedmann, 
Schott,  Zurick,  and  Kasem  Beg.  The  latter  writer 
is  by  birth  a  Tartar,  and  is  endowed  with  a  great 
fund  of  knowledge  in  the  Oriental  and  European 
languages.  His  Muhammediyeh,  from  the  Kasan 


ME.  PKATT'S  COLLECTION.  367 

press,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of 
printing  by  Oriental  hands  it  has  been  our  good 
fortune  to  see. 

Of  course  there  are  numerous  works  relating  to 
the  laws  and  religion  of  the  Mohammedans,  most 
of  which  were  printed  at  Constantinople,  Bulak, 
Ispahan,  and  Calcutta,  the  chief  cities  in  which 
printing  is  executed  to  any  extent  east  of  Europe. 
The  great  European  writers  are  not  omitted,  and 
among  which  are  De  Sacy,  Lane,  Wilson,  Bopp, 
Garcin  de  Tassy,  and  Von  Hammer-Purgstall,  re 
cently  deceased,  and  confessedly  the  first  Orientalist 
of  the  age,  with  that  valuable  repository  Mines  de 
U  Orient,  Vienna,  6  vols.  folio,  1809-18. 

There  is  a  fair  collection  of  Polyglots  in  the 
library,  of  which  the  Biblia  Sacra  Polyglotta  of  Car 
dinal  Ximenes  and  that  of  Walton  stand  conspicu 
ous.  The  first  of  these  learned  philologists  was  a 
native  and  distinguished  statesman  of  Spain,  and 
drew  his  education  from  the  celebrated  colleges  of 
Alcala  and  Salamanca.  While  at  Rome,  the  Pope 
gave  him  a  bull  for  the  first  vacant  prebend  in  his 
native  country.  When  this  missive  was  presented 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  he  not  only  refused  to 
comply  with  its  demand,  but  imprisoned  Ximenes  in 
the  tower  of  Uceda.  He  however  was  soon  released, 
and  rose  as  high  in  fame  as  he  was  eminent  in  schol- 


368  LIBKAKIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

arsliip.  Julius,  in  1507,  bestowed  upon  him  a  Car 
dinal's  hat,  and  Charles  Y.  soon  after  created  him 
prime  minister  of  his  kingdom.  His  chief  reputa 
tion  however,  rests  upon  his  authorship  of  the  first 
Polyglot  Bible,  called  the  Complutensian. 

Walton,  who  had  the  benefit,  not  only  of  the 
knowledge  of  Cardinal  Ximenes,  but  of  the  several 
other  polyglotists,  prepared  one  which  soon  gained 
high  repute.  It  appeared  in  London  in  six  folios  in 
1657,  and  employs  nine  languages.  In  the  collecting 
and  arranging  of  this  work  he  had  the  services  of 
several  assistants  learned  in  the  several  languages 
used  in  the  work.  He  was  a  favorite  of  Charles  I., 
and  was  made  by  him  a  prebendary  of  St.  Paul's, 
and  his  private  chaplain.  The  preface  to  the  first 
edition  contains  some  compliments  to  Cromwell, 
which  were  stricken  out  of  the  subsequent  editions 
issued  after  the  restoration,  in  consideration  of  the 
feelings  of  Charles  II,  by  whom  he  was  received 
into  favor,  made  Bishop  of  Chester,  and  chaplain  in 
ordinary,  and  sent  as  a  commissioner  to  the  Savoy 
Conference.  The  alteration  in  the  preface,  already 
spoken  of,  which  shows  that  the  good  bishop  was 
quite  indisposed  to  be  at  variance  with  those  in 
power,  has  given  an  additional  value  to  the  edition 
of  1657,  which  on  this  account  commands  in  market 
a  much  higher  price. 


MR.  PEATT'S  COLLECTION.  369 

There  is  likewise  in  this  collection,  the  P-salterium 
Hebmicum,  Grcecum,  Arabicum  et  Clialdceum  cum 
tribus  Latinis  Inter pretationibiis  et  Glossis,  or  Poly 
glot  Psalter  of  Augustin  Justinian,  Bishop  of  Nebbio, 
published  at  Genoa  in  1516,  by  Porrus,  which  is 
chiefly  remarkable  for  the  commentary  made  in  a 
note  to  the  fourth  verse  of  the  XlXth  Psalm,  "  cceli 
enarrant :"  "  Their  words  are  gone  to  the  end  of 
the  earth ;"  in  which  a  sketch  is  given  of  the  life  of 
Columbus,  and  an  account  of  his  discovery  of  Amer 
ica,  with  a  curious  description  of  the  inhabitants. 
In  this  account  Justinian  says  that  Columbus  fre 
quently  boasted  that  he  was  the  person  appointed 
by  God  to  fulfil  the  prophetic  exclamation  of  David, 
which  appears  to  have  given  offence  to  the  family  of 
Columbus,  whose  influence  at  Genoa  was  more  potent 
than  that  of  the  Bishop  of  Nebbio,  and  the  senate 
of  Genoa  laid  a  penalty  upon  any  one  who  should 
either  keep  or  read  the  work  ;  and  likewise  directed 
that  it  should  be  carefully  sought  out,  in  order  when 
found  "to  be  destroyed  and  utterly  extinguished." 

This  is  the  first  Polyglot  work  printed,  and  was 
undertaken  by  its  author  in  the  vain  hope,  as  it 
ultimately  appeared,  not  only  of  great  reputation, 
but  of  considerable  gain.  "  I  had  always  imagined, 
he  remarked, "  that  my  work  would  be  eagerly  sought 

after,  and  that  the  wealthy   prelates   and   princes 

47 


LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 


would  readily  have  afforded  me  every  assistance  nec 
essary  for  printing  the  Bible  in  such  a  diversity  of 
languages.  But  I  was  mistaken ;  every  one  applaud 
ed  the  work,  but  suffered  it  to  rest  and  sleep,  for 
scarcely  was  a  fourth  part  sold  of  the  two  thousand 
copies  which  I  had  printed,  exclusive  of  fifty  copies 
upon  vellum,  which  I  had  presented  to  all  the  kings 
in  the  world,  whether  Christian  or  pagan."  His 
want  of  success  does  not  seem  to  have  deterred  him 
from  other  literary  ventures,  as  he  appears  afterward 
to  have  published  several  works.  He  was  invited 
to  the  court  of  France,  where  he  became  an  almoner 
and  counsellor,  and  remained  several  years.  Upon 
his  return  to  Italy  he  was  well  received  by  the 
reigning  duke  and  his  brother  the  cardinal,  but  un 
fortunately  perished  in  a  storm  at  sea  while  on  his 
way  from  Genoa  to  Nebbio,  the  seat  of  his  bishop 
ric,  in  1536. 

Some  pains  has  been  taken  by  the  possessor  to 
procure  the  best  works  on  the  military  art  and  sci 
ence,  and  they  exist  in  the  library  to  a  considerable 
extent,  from  Turenne's  campaigns,  in  folio,  down  to 
the  last  treatise  on  rifled  muskets  and  long-range 
cannon. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  Bibles,  both  of  ancient 
and  modern  date,  among  which  is  a  large-paper  copy  of 
the  beautiful "  Mazarine"  Greek  Testament,  published 


ME.  PEATT'S  COLLECTION. 


at  Paris,  in  folio,  in  1642,  and  Eliot's  Indian  Bible. 
The  copy  in  the  collection  appears  to  have  once 
belonged  to  an  Indian  teacher,  and  to  have  seen 
much  use  at  his  hands.  The  name  of  the  possessor, 
which  occurs  on  one  of  the  pages,  would  require 
some  ten  or  fifteen  syllables  properly  to  express. 
There  is  also  the  Latin  translation  of  Eusebius's 
Ecclesiastical  History,  in  folio,  published  at  Mantua 
in  1479. 

The  classical  department  contains  several  Aldine 
editions  of  Cicero,  some  folios,  and  a  copy  of  the  cel 
ebrated  Olivet's  edition,  which  formerly  belonged  to 
Gibbon  the  historian  ;  copies  of  Horace,  of  the  Ven 
ice  edition  of  1486,  with  Landino's  Commentary, 
and  the  rare  Aldus  of  1509;  the  good  edition  of 
1515  of  Lucretius,  handsomely  bound  by  Hayday, 
and  the  typographical  reproduction  of  the  well- 
known  manuscript  of  Virgil,  preserved  at  Florence, 
and  published  there  in  1741. 

The  library  contains  a  number  of  the  best  editions 
of  the  Italian  poets,  conspicuous  among  which  are 
the  works  of  Ariosto,  of  the  handsome  quarto  Vene 
tian  edition  of  1584,  exhibiting  a  large  number  of 
wood-cuts  by  Porro,  of  the  Baskerville  edition,  pub 
lished  at  Birmingham  in  1773,  which  is  a  remarka 
bly  fine  specimen  of  typography,  and  contains  a 
number  of  engravings  done  by  Bartolozzi  ;  and  the 


372  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

edition  produced  under  the  auspices  of  Panizzi,  the 
librarian  of  the  British  Museum,  by  Pickering. 
Dante's  works,  of  the  large  folio  edition  published 
at  Florence  in  1481,  which  Gamba  says  is  the  first 
edition  of  Dante's  works  printed  in  his  own  country ; 
the  Venice  edition  of  Petrarch,  published  in  1547, 
and  the  Comino  edition,  published  at  Padua  in  1722  ; 
Tasso's  Gerusalemme  Liberata,  published  at  Genoa  in 
1590,  many  of  the  plates  of  which  were  designed  by 
Augustin  Carracci.  There  are  likewise  the  large 
folios  of  Bodoni,  published  at  Parma  in  1794,  on 
large-paper,  which  belonged  to  Joseph  Bonaparte. 

Among  Spanish  works  are  The  Labyrinth,  by  Juan 
cle  Mena,  published  at  Valladolid  in  1540,  which 
once  belonged  to  Southey ;  Teatro  E-spanol — a  col 
lection  of  original  editions  of  Spanish  plays  of  the 
last  century,  bound  up  in  31  vols.  4to.  Zurita's 
Anales  de  Arayon,  in  7  vols.  4to. ;  Mariana's  His 
tory  of  Spain,  Lope  de  Vega,  &c.,  &c. 

Besides  these  there  are  Froissart's  Chronicles,  in 
black  letter,  published  in  1514 ;  Kerb's  Kussia,  pub 
lished  in  1698  ;  Moreri's  Die.  Historique ;  the  Eng 
lish  Historical  Society  publications,  and  those  now 
issued  under  the  direction  of  Sir  John  Romilly, 
Master  of  the  Rolls — a  large  number  of  beautifully 
printed  volumes ;  Dugdale's  Monasticon  Anglicanum, 
in  8  vols. ;  and  a  collection  of  Memoirs  of  the  French 


MK.  PKATT'S  COLLECTION.  373 

Revolution,   in    56    vols.,  which   once  belonged  to 
Louis  Philippe  of  France. 

The  collection  likewise  embraces  valuable  illus 
trated  works — the  Musee  Frangais — fine  set  of 
proofs;  Lodge's  Portraits;  the  Monuments  of  Her- 
culaneum,  9  vols.  folio,  Naples,  1757-92 ;  Baronial 
Halls  of  England  and  Smith's  Literary  Curiosities 
are  of  this  class. 

As  may  be  supposed,  the  owner,  who  takes  an 
interest  in  the  political  questions  of  the  day,  has 
not  neglected  a  department  likely  to  be  of  use  in 
this  particular.  Complete  sets  of  the  Gentleman's 
Magazine,  Edinburgh,  North  American,  and  other 
Reviews,  Encyclopedias,  such  as  the  Metropolitana 
and  Jlritannica;  Parliamentary  History  and  Debates, 
the  series  reaching  to  nearly  two  hundred  volumes  ; 
Chalmers  and  Mart  ens' s  collection  of  Treaties ;  Du- 
mont  and  Rousset's  Corps  Diplomatique,  28  vols. 
folio ;  Hargrave's  State  Trials ;  the  United  States 
Government  publications,  including  the  State  Papers 
in  21  vols.  folio,  and  the  Archives  in  nine  more. 
Colonel  Pratt  has  gathered  together  many  newspa 
per  files— the  Evening  Post  from  1804  to  '59,  55 
vols. ;  Niles's  Register;  and  many  revolutionary  jour 
nals,  of  which  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette,  commencing 
in  1731;  the  Massachusetts  Gazette;  Newport  Mer 
cury,  and  New  Hampshire  Gazette,  are  remembered. 


374  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Some  fifteen  hundred  volumes  on  American  sub 
jects  are  to  be  found  in  this  library.  There  are  the 
Antiquites  Mexicaines,  2  vols.  folio,  Paris,  1834 ; 
Barcia's  Illstoriadores  Primitives  de  las  Indicts  occi- 
dentales,  3  vols.  folio,  Madrid,  1749 ;  Bustamente's 
Mananas  de  la  Alameda,  Mexico,  1835 ;  Bernal- 
Diez ;  Salis ;  Oviedo ;  La  Vega ;  Torquemada's  queer 
work  on  Mexico,  being  the  Madrid  edition  of  1723, 
in  3  vols.  folio ;  Gumilla ;  Humboldt's  Essai  Poli- 
tique  sur  le  lioyaume  de  la  Nouvelle  Espagne,  and  his 
Vues  des  Cordilleres ;  Las  Casas ;  Peter  Martyr ; 
and  the  record  of  a  fierce  sort  of  a  "  Maine-law"  inqui 
sition,  called  Informe  sobre  los  incowvenientes  de  la 
bebida  del  Pulque,  folio,  Mexico,  1692. 

The  collections  of  Harris,  Thevenot,  Purchas,  Hak- 
luyt,  and  Ternaux  are  here  with  the  Pennsylvania, 
New  York,  Rhode  Island,  Massachusetts,  and  other 
state  and  society  publications ;  Les  Lettres  edificmtes 
et  curieuses ;  the  first  edition  of  Anne  Bradstreet's 
Poems;  Ward's  "Simple  Cobbler  of  Aggaw^am;" 
Berkeley's  Virginia,  the  several  works  on  American 
Bibliography,  together  with  various  histories,  local 
as  well  as  general. 

Governor  George  Clinton's  original  copy  of  his 
proclamations,  messages,  &c.,  &c.,  beginning  with 
his  induction  to  office,  and  containing  much  curious 
official  matter,  together  with  many  letters  and  papers 


ME.  PEATT'S  COLLECTION. 


of  this  noted  revolutionary  character,  nave  found  a 
resting-place  in  this  private  collection.  Governor 
Thomas  Pownal's  letter-book,  and  his  own  copy  of 
his  "  Middle  Colonies,"  filled  with  very  interesting 
MS.  notes  by  the  author,  and  which  he  had  evi 
dently  prepared  for  a  new  edition,  are  valuable 
documents  ;  General  Wolfe's  Order-book  while  in 
America,  closing  with  the  "order  of  the  day"  for 
the  attack  on  Quebec,  in  which  memorable  battle  he 
lost  his  life. 

Besides  the  American  historical  papers,  and  some 
portfolios  of  letters  of  distinguished  men  of  all 
ages  and  countries,  there  is  also  a  good  number  of 
Oriental  manuscripts,  many  of  which  are  exceed 
ingly  beautiful,  and  some  rare  and  valuable,  and 
many  Livre-s  (PHeures,  and  manuscripts  in  Latin  of 
the  early  ages  of  the  church,  written  and  used  within 
the  walls  of  those  venerable  cloisters  in  which  for  so 
long  a  period  all  that  was  known  of  learning  was 
centred.  As  curiosities  of  the  early  period  of 
printed  literature,  are  several  massive  folios  in  black 
letter,  with  large  bosses  and  clamps,  and  heavy 
chains  to  secure  them  to  the  reading-desk,  which 
present  a  singular  contrast  with  the  more  delicate 
editions  of  more  modern  times,  or  even  of  the  illu 
minated  manuscripts  which  preceded  their  advent. 

The  owner  of  this  collection  has  spent  consider- 


376  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

able  time  in  Europe  and  Eastern  countries,  and  made 
extensive  journeys  to  various  parts  of  the  world,  in 
which  a  large  proportion  of  his  books  have  been 
collected ;  they  are,  in  the  main,  well  bound,  with 
some  handsome  specimens  of  well-known  workmen, 
but  are  not  particularly  remarkable  on  account  of 
their  covers.  Those  in  this  city  now  occupy  a  tem 
porary  position,  and  consequently  are  not  easily 
examined  by  any  other  hand  than  the  owner's. 


GEORGE  T.  STRONG'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  library  has  between  four  and  five  thousand 
books.  The  collection  is  miscellaneous.  It  seems 
strongest  in  History,  and  in  English  and  German 
literature.  The  English  chronicles  and  the  English 
literature  of  the  XVIth  and  XVIIth  centuries  are 
well  represented,  and  generally  in  original  editions. 
The  proportion  of  early  printed  books  and  manu 
scripts  is  large. 

Among  the  MSS.  on  vellum  is  a  large  folio  Bible 
of  the  XlVth  century,  in  good  condition,  with  elabo 
rate  capitals  and  highly  finished  miniatures,  many  of 
them  unusual  in  their  subjects  and  style  of  treat 
ment.  Another  Bible,  a  quarto,  seems,  from  a  mem 
orandum  in  red  letter,  to  have  been  the  gift  of 
Philipius  de  Eythop,  " altarista  et  Capellanu-s"  to 
some  monastic  fraternity  in  1138,  and  the  scribe  com 
mends  the  donor  to  the  prayers  of  the  faithful.  A 
note  on  a  fly-leaf,  apparently  by  some  French  theo 
logian  of  the  last  century,  refers  to  certain  peculiar 
ities  in  its  reading,  especially  in  the  much  cont.ro- 
48 


378  LIBRARIES    OF    ]STEW    YORK. 

verted  passage,  "There  are  three  that  bear  wit 
ness,"  &c.,  and  in  the  titles  and  arrangement  of  the 
canonical  books,  and  states  that  it  is  pronounced 
by  competent  judges  to  have  been  written  in  the 
Xth  century  at  latest.  Another  Bible  in  two 
volumes  is  remarkable  for  the  minuteness  of  its 
character,  and  the  delicacy  of  the  vellum  on  which 
it  is  written. 

The  MS.  Hours,  Missals,  and  other  books  of  de 
votion,  are  numerous  and  interesting.  The  illumina 
tions  of  a  folio  Psalter  and  service-book,  probably 
French  work  of  the  XVth  century,  are  large  and 
brilliant,  but  the  volume  has  been  mutilated,  and 
several  of  its  decorations  abstracted.  Two  volumes 
of  Hours  executed  in  Italy  (XVth  century),  contain 
miniatures  of  considerable  artistic  merit  in  design 
and  color.  There  are  also  specimens  of  Flemish 
work,  less  elegant  but  profusely  decorated,  and 
highly  finished.  A  very  early  Psalter,  probably  of 
the  Xlth  century,  is  remarkable  for  the  size  and 
elaboration  of  its  capital  letters,  some  of  which 
occupy  nearly  the  whole  page.  Another  Psalter  is 
preceded  by  illuminations  on  a  gold  background  in 
the  most  primitive  style  of  art,  and  by  a  Calendar 
with  curious  miniatures  illustrating  the  amusements 
and  the  agricultural  employments  appropriate  to 
each  month  in  the  year — hawking,  feasting,  sowing 


MR.  STRONG'S  COLLECTION.  379 

and  reaping,  knocking  down  mast  for  swine,  slaugh 
tering  them,  <fec.  These  clearly  belong  to  a  very 
early  period,  though  the  residue  of  the  volume  can 
not  well  be  of  earlier  date  than  the  XlVth  century. 

There  is  an  interesting  small  4to.  MS.  on  vellum, 
in  English  of  the  XI  Vth  century,  entitled  The  Rule 
of  Saint  Benet,  i.  e.,  the  Benedictine  Monastic  Code, 
concluding  in  rhyme.  To  this  is  subjoined  a  narra 
tive  of  the  Passion  of  our  Lord,  also  in  English,  and 
compiled  from  the  apocryphal  Gospels. 

A  Psalter  of  the  XVth  century,  in  Italian,  is  with 
out  miniatures,  but  abounds  in  elegantly  decorated 
capitals.  A  Greek  MS.  of  the  epistles,  4to.  (bound 
by  Lewis),  from  the  Duke  of  Sussex's  library,  for 
merly  in  the  Meerman  collection,  in  excellent  condi- 
dition,  is  on  charta  bombycina,  almost  equal  to 
vellum  in  toughness  and  solidity.  Another  Greek 
MS. — AriMoteles  de  virtutibus  et  vitiis — 4to.  on  vel 
lum,  contains  in  addition  to  the  original  text,  a 

o 

Latin  version  by  Georgius  Hermonymus,  Spartanus, 
and  an  introductory  or  commendatory  epistle  by  the 
translator,  addressed  to  "  the  magnanimous  and  most 
illustrious  Prince,  Engelbert,  Count  of  Cleves,"  to 
whom  the  MS.,  with  its  headings  in  gold  letter  and 
its  heraldic  illuminations,  seems  to  have  been  an 
autograph  presentation-copy  from  the  translator. 
Aristotle's  Opera  Logica  (XI Vth  century),  folio  on 


380  LIBRARIES    OP    ]N'EW    YORK. 

vellum,  is  remarkable  for  its  grotesque  and  most 
inappropriate  marginal  illuminations, 

A  Suetonius,  folio  ;  Lactantius,  folio ;  and  Clau- 
dian,  12mo.  (Italian  work  of  the  XVth  century),  are 
clearly  written,  and  in  a  character  identical  with 
that  of  modern  typography. 

Among  the  MSS.  on  paper,  are  a  bulky  4to.  com 
mentary  on  the  Proverbs,  1405 ;  a  collection  of  alehe- 
mistic  tracts  ;  a  dramatic  poem  in  Latin  and  Portu 
guese  on  the  martyrdom  of  Saints  Vitus  and  Modes- 
tus,  from  Sir  M.  M.  Sykes's  library,  written  in  1600, 
by  a  member  of  some  Jesuit  organization  in  the  East 
Indies,  with  a  memorandum  on  a  fly-leaf  that  "this 
booke  was  found  in  the  Casique  St.  Valentine,  taken 
by  Sir  Richard  Lemson  a  yeare  before  the  death  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,"  and  a  curious  English  translation 
of  the  Jewish  liturgy,  probably  written  about  1700, 
12mo. 

The  specimens  of  early  printing  on  vellum  are 
from  the  Parisian  press,  between  1480  and  1510: 
the  devotional  books  published  by  Pigouchet,  Simon 
Vostre,  Thielman,  Kerver,  <fec.,  with  their  elaborate 
wood-engravings  and  arabesque  borders,  in  which  the 
Danse  Macabre  was  a  favorite  subject.  To  this  class 
belongs  an  8vo.  volume  of  Hours  (on  paper),  from 
the  press  of  Simon  Vostre,  containing  curious  speci 
mens  of  what  Parisian  typographers  of  A.  D.  1500 


MR.  STRONG'S  COLLECTION.  381 

supposed  to  be  the  English  language.  There  is  also 
a  copy,  on  vellum,  of  Albert  Durer's  Passion,  edited 
by  Henry  Cole,  London,  1844. 

Among  the  early  printed,  or  unusual  books,  are 
the  German  Bible  of  Augsburg,  1477,  2  vols.  folio; 
Tyndale's  English  Bible,  folio,  1537  (a  slightly  im 
perfect  copy)  ;  Trevisa's  Polichronicon,  folio,  West 
minster,  Wynkyn  de  Worde,  1497  ;  Sir  Thomas 
More's  Life  of  Picus  Mirandula,  4to.,  W.  de  Worde ; 
Sir  Thomas  More's  English  Works,  folio,  London, 
1557 ;  Sprenger's  Malleus  Maleficarum,  folio,  Mentz, 
1487,  bound  up  with  a  Bull  by  Innocent  VIII. 
"  Against  the  Heresy  of  Witchcraft,"  1484 ;  Tewr- 
danckh,  folio,  Augsburg,  1519  ;  Bishop  Gawin  Doug 
las's  Translation  of  Virgil,  London,  1553 ;  Buchanan's 
Detectioun  of  the  Doingis  of  Marie,  Queene  of 
Scottis,  touching  the  nmrther  of  her  husband,  St. 
Andrews,  1573;  James  VI.'s  Essays  of  a  Prentise  in 
the  Divine  Art  of  Poesie,  Edinburgh,  1585  (Horace 
Walpole's  copy) ;  the  Aurea  Legenda,  1479 ;  Se 
bastian  Brant's  Navis  Stultifera,  1506 ;  Geyler's 
Specula  Fatuorum,  1511 ;  Alexander  Barclay's  Ship 
of  Fooles,  London,  1570  ;  Chapman's  Homer,  the 
original  folio  edition ;  the  works  of  John  Taylor,  the 
Water  Poet,  London,  1630,  folio ;  Boccaccio  de  Mu- 
lieribus  claris,  4to.,  1473 ;  Puttenham's  Art  of  Eng 
lish  Poesie,  4to.,  1589 ;  Lyly's  Euphues,  or  Anatomy 


382  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

of  Wit,  1592;  which  Sir  Walter  Scott  has  thus  no 
ticed  in  The  Monastery : 

"  It  was  about  this  period  that  the  l  only  rare  poet 
of  his  time,  the  witty,  comical,  facetiously  quick  and 
quickly  facetious  John  Lilly — he  that  sat  at  Apollo's 
table,  and  to  whom  Phoebus  gave  a  wreath  of  his 
own  bays  without  snatching' — he,  in  short,  who 
wrote  that  singularly  coxcombical  work  called 
Euphues  and  his  England,  was  in  the  very  zenith 
of  his  absurdity  and  his  reputation.  The  quaint, 
forced,  and  unnatural  style  which  he  introduced  by 
his  l  Anatomy  of  Wit,'  had  a  fashion  as  rapid  as  it 
was  momentary ;  all  the  court  ladies  were  his  schol 
ars,  and  to  parler  Mwphuisme  was  as  necessary  a 
qualification  to  a  courtly  gallant,  as  those  of  under 
standing  how  to  use  his  rapier,  or  to  dance  a  measure. 

"  A  little  specimen  of  the  conversation  may  not  be 
out  of  place,  were  it  but  to  show  young  ladies  what 
fine  things  they  have  lost  by  living  when  Euphuism 
is  out  of  fashion : 

"  '  Credit  me,  fairest  lady,'  said  the  knight,  <  that 
such  is  the  cunning  of  our  English  courtiers  of  the 
hodiernal  strains,  that  as  they  have  infinitely  refined 
upon  the  plain  and  rustical  discourse  of  our  fathers, 
which,  as  I  may  say,  more  beseemed  the  mouths  of 
country  roysterers  in  a  May-game,  than  that  of 
courtly  gallants  in  a  galliard,  so  I  hold  it  ineffably 


MR.  STRONG'S  COLLECTION.  383 

and  unutterably  impossible  that  those  who  may  suc 
ceed  us  in  the  garden  of  wit  and  courtesy  shall  alter 
or  amend  it.  Venus  delighted  but  in  the  language 
of  Mercury.  Bucephalus  will  stoop  to  no  one  but 
Alexander ;  none  can  sound  Apollo's  horn  but  Or 
pheus.' 

"  '  Valiant  sir,'  said  Mary,  who  could  scarcely  help 
laughing,  i  we  have  but  to  rejoice  in  the  chance 
which  hath  honored  this  solitude  with  a  glimpse  of 
the  sun  of  courtesy,  though  it  rather  blinds  than  en 
lightens  us.' 

"  *  Pretty  and  quaint,  fairest  lady,'  answered  the 
Euphuist. 

"  Ah !  that  I  had  with  me  my  Anatomy  of  Wit- 
that  all  to  be  unparalleled  volume — that  quintes 
sence  of  human  wit — that  treasury  of  quaint  inven 
tion — that  exquisitively  pleasant  to  read  and  inevit 
ably  necessary  to  be  remembered  manual  of  all  that 
is  worthy  to  be  known — which  indoctrinates  the 
rude  in  civility,  the  dull  in  intellectuality,  the 
heavy  in  jocosity,  the  blunt  in  gentility,  the  vul 
gar  in  nobility,  and  all  of  them  in  that  unutterable 
perfection  of  human  utterance — that  eloquence  which 
no  other  eloquence  is  sufficient  to  praise — that  art 
which,  when  we  call  it  by  its  own  name  of  Euphuism, 
we  bestow  on  it  its  richest  panegyric.'  "* 

*  The  Monastery,  chap.  14th, 


384  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Coryal's  Crudities,  1611  ;  illustrated  Paris  edition 
of  Crashawe's  Poems,  1(552  ;  Hey  wood's  Hierarchic 
of  the  Blessed  Angels,  folio,  1634;  Pynson's  edition 
of  Froissart,  2  vols.  folio,  London,  1523  and  1525  ; 
Henry  VIII.'s  Assertio  Septem  Sacramentorum  Ad- 
versus  Lutherum,  London,  1521;  Lihellus  de  Perse 
cutions  Anglicana,  Rome,  1582 ;  Bernard  de  Brey- 
denbach's  Peregrinatio  ad  Venerandum  et  Gloriosum 
Sepulclirum  Dominicum  in  Hierusalem,  folio,  1502, 
with  large  folding  plates ;  the  German  version  of  the 
same  work,  folio,  Mentz,  1486  ;  a  curiously  illustrated 
Virgil,  4to.,  Strasburgh,  1502  ;  the  Frankfort  TJmr- 
nier-Bucli,  folio,  1566,  with  engravings;  Purchases 
Pilgrimage  and  his  Pilgrimes,  5  vols.  folio,  1525-26 ; 
Loggan's  Oxonia  Illustrata,  folio,  16  Y  5  ;  Pry  line's 
Histriomastix,  1633 ;  and  his  Discourse  on  the  Un- 
loveliness  of  Love  Lockes,  1628. 

There  are  several  volumes  from  Charles  Lamb's 
library:  Reynold's  God's  Revenge  against  Murder, 
&c.,  1651  ;  Ben  Jonson's  works,  folio,  1692  ;  Donne's 
Poems,  1669,  and  others.  They  are  generally  indif 
ferent  copies,  but  are  interesting  on  account  of  their 
extensive  marginal  notes  by  Coleridge ;  accompanied 
in  one  instance  by  a  memorandum  of  apology  for 
having  u  bescribbled"  a  borrowed  book. 


R.  L.  STUART'S  LIBRARY. 


Tins  library  contains  seven  thousand  volumes 
of  Belles-Lettres,  History,  Topography,  Voyages 
and  Travels,  Biography,  Bibliography,  Bibles,  and 
Ecclesiastical  History ;  but  its  chief  strength  is  in 
its  collection  of  works  on  the  Fine  Arts  and  Natural 
History,  the  former  of  these  being  much  the  more 
complete  of  the  two. 

The  department  of  History  is  supplied  with  a 
considerable  number  of  the  best  authors  relating  to 
each  country,  including  the  Historia  Imperil  Japon- 
•ici,  by  Kaempfer;  Siebold's  Manners  and  Customs 
of  the  Japanese ;  Randall's  Memorials  of  the  Empire 
of  Japan,  in  the  XVIth  and  X  Vllth  centuries ;  Ford's 
Annals  and  Antiquities  of  Rajast'han ;  Mill's  British 
India  ;  Blagdon's  Ancient  and  Modern  India ;  South- 
ey's  Brazil ;  De  la  Vega's  Royal  Commentaries  of 
Peru;  Del  Rio's  Ruins  near  Palenque;  Clavigero's 
Mexico;  Solis's  Conquest  of  Mexico;  Lord  Kings- 
borough's  Antiquities  of  Mexico ;  Venega's  Califor 
nia  ;  Keith's  Virginia;  Stith's  Discovery  and  Set- 
49 


386  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

tlement  of  Virginia ;  and  Proud's  Pennsylvania.  In 
this  department  are  to  be  found  the  publications  of 
each  of  the  state  Historical  Societies,  with  one  or 
two  exceptions,  complete. 

Among  the  works  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  are 
Hooker's  Himalayan  Journals ;  Demon's  Voyages 
dans  la  Basse  et  la  Haute  Egypte  pendant  les  Cam- 
pagnes  de  Bonaparte,  London,  1809 ;  Sleeman's  Ram 
bles  ;  Moorcroft  and  Trebeck's  Travels  in  the  Hima 
layan  Provinces  of  Hindostan;  Chappe  d'Autero- 
che's  Voyage  en  Siberie,  4to.,  Paris,  1768  ;  Smith's  Lin 
naeus' s  Lacliesis  Lapponica,  London,  1812;  Scheuch- 
zer's  Helveticus,  Batavia,  1723  ;  Laborde's  Voyage 
Pittoresque,  folio,  Paris,  1806  ;  Swineburne's  Spain, 
folio,  London,  1806;  Sloane's  Jamaica,  2  vols.  folio, 
London,  1707;  Wilson's  Missionary  Voyage;  Max 
imilian's  Travels  in  Brazil;  Tschudi's  Travels  in 
Peru ;  Belzoni's  Researches  in  Egypt  and  Nubia ; 
Rochefoucault's  United  States,  4to.,  London,  1799  ; 
Josselyn's  New  England,  London,  1674;  De  Bry, 
parts  1  to  6  ;  Charlevoix,  London,  1761 ;  Bellegarde's 
Collection  of  Voyages  to  North  and  South  America ; 
De  Vries's  Voyages,  translated  by  Henry  C.  Murphy, 
4to.,  New  York,  1853,  and  Nicolaus  Syllacius's  De 
Insulis  Meridiani  atque  In  did  Moris  Nuper  Inventis, 
translated  into  English  by  Rev.  J.  Mulligan,  4to., 
New  York,  1860.  Both  of  these  translations  are  of 


MR,    STUARTS    COLLECTION.  387 

rare  works.  Of  the  last,  which  describes  the  second 
voyage  of  Columbus,  but  two  copies  of  the  original 
are  known. 

In  addition  to  these  are  Burnet's  Ethiopia ;  Mar- 
ryatt's  Borneo ;  Parry's,  Franklin's,  and  Ross's  Ex 
peditions  ;  and  Admiral  Krusenstern's,  Arago's,  Pe- 
rouse's,  Lisiansky's,  and  Anson's  Voyages,  Kotze- 
bue's  Voyage  in  search  of  a  North-East  Passage; 
Vancouver's  North  Pacific ;  Wilkes's  United  States 
Exploring  Expedition;  Voyages  of  the  Adventure 
and  Beagle,  and  the  Astrolabe  ;  Phipps's  Voyage  to 
the  North  Pole  ;  Lawson's  New  Voyage  to  Carolina ; 
and  Evans's  British  Colonies  in  America,  4to.,  Phila 
delphia,  1755.  This  last  work  was  printed  by  Ben 
jamin  Franklin. 

The  collection  on  Natural  History,  while  it  makes 
no  pretensions  to  completeness  in  any  one  of  its  de 
partments,  contains  many  books  of  interest  to  the 
student  of  Natural  History,  and  some  found  in  only 
a  few  of  the  public  libraries  of  this  country. 

Among  the  chief  books  of  this  collection,  are  Au- 
dubon's  Quadrupeds  of  North  America,  elephant ; 
Birds  of  America,  4  vols.  double-elephant;  Aude- 
bert's  Historic  Naturelle  de  Singes,  folio;  Fraser's 
Zoologia  Typica,  4to. ;  Wilson's  Ornithology,  with 
Bonaparte's  continuation,  12  vols.  4to.  The  works 
of  the  latter  writer,  although  greatly  eclipsed  in  point 


388  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

of  execution  by  the  more  recent  and  splendid  ones 
of  Audubon,  are  nevertheless  in  no  way  diminished 
in  value  as  faithful  chroniclers  of  this  extensive 
department  of  animated  nature.  This  work  pos 
sesses  an  additional  value  from  the  circumstance  that 
the  specimens  of  birds  described  in  it  were  for  the 
most  part  deposited  in  the  Peale  Museum,  at  Phil 
adelphia,  where  the  writer  has  frequently  had  an 
opportunity  of  contrasting  the  plates  executed  for 
Wilson's  Ornithology  with  actual  specimens  depos 
ited  in  the  museum.  He  was  the  first  naturalist 
who  carefully  studied  the  birds  of  North  America 
in  their  accustomed  haunts,  and  his  work  will  long 
continue  to  be  admired,  not  only  on  account  of  its 
truthful  descriptions,  but  likewise  because  of  the 
enthusiasm  and  perseverance  it  displays.  It  is  a 
singular  fact,  in  connection  with  this  subject,  that 
the  manufacturing  districts  should  not  only  have 
produced  some  of  the  most  ardent  cultivators  of 
Ornithology — as  Wilson,  who  was  originally  a  gauze- 
weaver  at  Paisley — but  have  contributed  most 
largely  of  their  means  to  defray  the  expenses  incurred 
in  the  production  of  the  magnificent  volumes  on 
Ornithology  that  have  recently  been  given  to  the 
world.  Audubon  used  frequently  to  declare  that 
men  of  station  and  rank,  possessing  fine  estates  and 
large  libraries,  did  far  less  to  aid  him  in  the  produc- 


MR.  STUART'S  COLLECTION.  389 

tion  of  his  great  work  than  the  leading  manufactur 
ers  of  England  and  France.  So  much,  indeed,  was 
he  dependent  upon  this  latter  class  for  aid,  that  it  is 
not  at  all  improbable  that  his  whole  project  would 
have  remained  unaccomplished  but  for  the  princely 
subscriptions  given  to  him  by  those  engaged  in 
manufacturing  occupations. 

It  is  a  question  whether  the  taste  for  the  beautiful 
in  nature  is  more  inseparably  interwoven  into  the 
minds  of  those  engaged  in  manufacturing  pursuits, 
or  whether  patronage  arises  from  a  more  sordid 
motive.  It  is  well  known  that  the  culture  of  flow 
ers  forms  one  of  the  most  favorite  and  universal  re 
creations  of  the  weaver.  Almost  every  one  possesses 
his  flower-garden,  and  as  his  taste  directs  he  enters 
warmly  into  the  culture  of  what  are  termed  florists' 
plants — polyanthuses,  ranunculuses,  anemonies,  hya 
cinths,  pinks,  and  carnations,  and  as  much  pleasure 
is  excited  in  watching  the  progress  of  a  favorite 
bulb  or  seedling,  as  could  arise  from  an  indulgence 
in  more  common  but  less  innocent  amusements. 

The  secret  of  this  preference  was  supposed  by  the 
great  naturalist  Audubon,  doubtless  with  much  pro 
priety,  to  arise  from  a  perfectly  interested  motive. 
In  the  manufacture  of  various  fabrics  it  is  necessary 
that  the  operatives  should  be  thoroughly  versed  in 
the  blending  of  colors  and  their  effect,  in  order  sue- 


390  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

cessfully  to  combine  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
render  them  acceptable  to  the  fastidious  tastes  of 
their  more  particular  customers.  In  the  rich  color 
ing  of  flowers,  and  the  variegated  and  brilliant 
plumage  of  the  feathered  tribe,  these  effects  are  ob 
served  in  the  most  eminent  degree ;  and  hence  those 
who  wish  to  study  the  effect  produced  in  nature  by 
this  harmonious  blending,  readily  appreciate  and 
cheerfully  pay  for  what  furnished  them  with  valu 
able  aid.  In  this  manner  it  fortunately  happens  that 
art  becomes  the  handmaid  and  patron  of  the  beauti 
ful  in  science. 

There  is  also  a  complete  set  of  Gould's  magnifi 
cent  works,  comprising — The  Birds  of  Europe,  5 
vols. ;  Birds  of  Australia,  Y  vols. ;  Animals  of  Aus 
tralia;*  Birds  of  Asia;*  Monograph  of  the  Trogons, 
and  of  the  Toucans,  and  Humming-birds  ;*  Birds  of 
the  Himalaya  Mountains;  and  Odontophorinse,  or 
Partridges  of  America,  a  work  of  rare  merit.  This 
ornithologist  has  distinguished  himself  by  his  ac 
curate  descriptions  of  birds,  which  embrace  an  ac 
count  of  those  sent  to  England  from  the  mountains 
of  Himalaya,  a  collection  made  by  himself  in  Aus 
tralia,  and  the  works  in  the  present  collection.  He 
has  formed  a  group  of  humming-birds,  which  are  now 

*  Not  yet  completed. 


MR.  STUART'S  COLLECTION.  391 

in  the  Crystal  Palace  at  Sydenham,  and  constitutes 
the  basis  of  his  work  on  this  subject. 

In  addition  are  Pontoppidan's  Natural  History 
of  Norway,  folio,  London,  1755;  Gray's  Illustrations 
of  Indian  Zoology,  folio,  London,  1830-32  ;  Harvey's 
Pkycologia  Sritannica  ;  Hussey's  Illustrations  of 
British  Mycology;  Hooker's  Genera  Filicum,  or, 
Illustrations  of  Ferns ;  Lyons'  Orchidaceous  Plants ; 
Rousseau's  Botany ;  Duhamel's  Traite  des  Arljres 
et  Arlustes,  1  vols.  folio,  Paris,  1825 ;  Meyer's 
British  Birds ;  Kiener's  Species  General  et  Icono- 
grapkie  des  Coquilles  Vivants  ;  Kuster's  System- 
atische  ConcJiylien,  Cabinet  von  Martini  und  Chemutz; 
Sowerby's  Thesaurus  Conchyliorum  /  Chenu's  Illus 
trations  Gonchyliologiques,  4  vols.  folio,  Paris ;  the 
Zoology  of  the  Samarang,  the  Beagle,  3  vols.  4to., 
and  the  Blossom ;  Zoologie  du  Voyage  de  1} Astrolabe 
4  vols.  8vo.,  2  folio,  Paris ;  Holbrook's  Ichthyology 
of  South  Carolina ;  Dana's  Zoophytes  of  the  United 
States  Exploring  Expedition ;  Dana's  Structure  and 
Classification  of  Zoophytes ;  Girard's  Herpetology 
of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition  ;  Cassin's 
Mammalogy  and  Ornithology  of  do. ;  Gray's  Botany 
of  do. ;  Hooker's  Botany  of  the  Antarctic  Voyage 
of  the  Erebus  and  Terror ;  Barton's  North  American 
Flora ;  Hitchcock's  Footmarks  in  the  Sandstone  of 
the  Connecticut  Valley ;  Rogers's  Geology  of  Penn- 


392  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

sylvania,  4  vols.  4to.,  Edinburgh,  1858  ;  the  Natural 
History  of  New  York,  20  vols.  4to. ;  and  Agassiz's 
Contributions  to  the  Natural  History  of  the  United 
States,  vols.  L,  II,  4to.,  Boston,  1857. 

In  illustrated  works  the  library  assumes  a  wider 
range.  Among  these  are  Antiquities  of  Rome,  pub 
lished  in  1681 ;  Effigies  Virorum,  or  engravings  of 
the  chief  pieces  of  statuary  and  bas-reliefs  in  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome ;  and  Novuin  Italics  Tlieatrum,  in 
4  vols.,  published  in  1742,  containing  views  of  all 
the  cities  of  Italy,  with  the  public  edifices,  private 
buildings,  public  grounds  and  forts,  and  giving  an 
excellent  view  of  the  plan,  architecture,  and  interior 
life,  so  far  as  it  may  be  judged  of  from  these,  of 
most  Italian  cities.  In  this  work  the  machinery  is 
portrayed  by  means  of  which  the  obelisks  were  ele 
vated  to  their  present  positions.  In  the  collection 
are  also  Views  in  Australia,  painted  by  W.  West- 
all,  and  engraved  by  Byrne,  4to.,  oblong,  London, 
1814;  Illustrations  of  Chinese  Female  Costume, 
Manufacture  of  Tea,  Punishments,  Flowers,  and 
Birds,  in  all  9  vols.  8vo. ;  Illustrations  of  Japan,  con 
sisting  of  Private  Memoirs,  and  Anecdotes  of  the 
Reigning  Dynasty  of  the  Djogounsor  Sovereign  of 
Japan,  by  M.  Titsingh,  translated  from  the  French 
by  F.  Shoberl,  London,  1822;  Picturesque  Illustra 
tions  of  Ancient  Architecture  in  Hindostan,  by  J. 


ME.  STUART'S  COLLECTION.  S93 

Ferguson,  folio,  London,  1848 ;  Illustrations  of  the 
Rock-cut  Temples  of  India,  by  Ferguson,  London, 
1845  ;  Scenery,  Costumes,  and  Architecture,  chiefly 
on  the  Western  Side  of  India,  by  R.  M.  Grindlay, 
folio,  London,  1830  ;  Antiquities  of  Kertch,  and  Re 
searches  in  the  Cimmerian  Bosphorus,  with  Remarks 
on  the  Ethnological  and  Physical  History  of  the 
Crimea,  by  Duncan  McPherson,  folio,  London,  1857  ; 
Scenes  in  Ethiopia,  designed  from  Nature  by  John 
Martin  Bernatz,  artist  to  the  British  Mission  to  the 
Court  of  Shoa,  with  Descriptions  of  the  Plates, 
and  Extracts  from  a  Journal  of  Travels  in  that 
Country,  oblong  folio,  London,  1852  ;  Von  Kayser- 
liclien  Kreigszrecliten  Malefitz  und  Schuldhandlen, 
by  Fronsperger,  Franckfurt,  1565;  Flaue  Vegece 
Ilene  liomme  noble  et  illustre  du  fait  de  guerre,  et 
fleur  de  clieualiere,  quatre  liures,  folio,  Paris,  •  1536; 
Graphic  Illustrations  of  Fonthill  Abbey,  the  seat  of 
John  Farquhar,  Esq.,  by  J.  P.  Neal,  with  an  Historical 
Description  and  Notices  of  Works  of  Art  formerly 
preserved  there,  4to.,  London,  1824 ;  Histories  of 
Noble  British  Families,  with  Biographical  Notices  of 
the  most  Distinguished  Individuals  in  each,  illustra 
ted  by  their  Armorial  Bearings,  Portraits,  Monu 
ments,  Seals,  <fec.,  by  Drummond,  2  vols.  folio,  Lon 
don,  1853 ;  Vues  des  Cordilleres,  et  Monuments  des 

Peuples  indigenes  de  VAmerique,  par  Alexandre  de 
50 


394  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Hwmboldt,  folio,  Paris,  1810;  Mexico  Illustrated, 
with  descriptive  letter-press  in  English  and  Spanish, 
26  plates,  by  John  Phillips,  folio,  London,  1848  ; 
North  American  Indian  Portfolio,  Hunting  Scenes 
and  Amusements  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  Prairie 
Indians,  by  G.  Catlin,  folio,  New  York,  1845 ;  and 
History  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  North  America,  with 
Biographical  Sketches  and  Anecdotes  of  the  Prin 
cipal  Chiefs,  embellished  with  one  hundred  and 
twenty  portraits,  by  McKenney  and  Hall,  3  vols. 
folio,  Philadelphia,  1838. 

There  are  also  illustrated  copies  of  the  Antiquities 
of  Athens,  measured  and  delineated  by  James  Stu 
art  and  Nicholas  Revett,  folio,  London,  1825 ;  The 
Costumes  of  the  Hereditary  States  of  the  House 
of  Austria,  by  Moleville;  Beaumont's  Sketches  in 
Denmark,  <fec. ;  Blaeu's  Novum  Italic®  Tlieatrum  ; 
Zanetti's  Ancient  Statues;  Hamilton's  collection  of 
Etruscan,  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities  ;  Art  Treas 
ures  of  the  United  Kingdom,  from  the  Art  Treasures 
Exhibition,  Manchester,  edited  by  J.  B.  Waring; 
Young's  Portraits  of  the  Emperors  of  Turkey ;  En 
gravings  of  the  Marquis  of  Stafford's  Collection  of 
Pictures  in  London,  by  W.  Y.  Ottley,  and  P.  W. 
Tomkins;  Musee  Frangais,  liecueil  des  plus  beaux 
Tableau^  Statues,  et  Bas-Reliefs,  qui  existaient  au 
Louvre  avant  1815,  4  vols.  folio,  Paris;  Musee 


ME.  STUAKT'S  COLLECTION.'  395 

Royal,  by  H.  Laurent,  2  vols.  folio,  Paris ;    Recueil 
(PEstampes,  by  F.  Basan ;  Galerie  Litliographique  de 
son  Altesse  Royal  Monseigneur  le  due  d?  Orleans,  by 
Charles  Motte ;  De  Ferrol's  Hecueil  de-s  Cent  Estam- 
pe$,  &c.     There  is  in  the  collection  De  Villa  Amil's 
E-spana  A.rti>stica  y  Monumentaj  Roccheggiani's  Rac- 
colta  di  Cento   Tavole;  Photographs  of  the  "  Gems 
of  the  Art  Treasures  Exhibition,"  Manchester,  1858, 
by  Signori  Caldesi  and  Montecchi;  the  Houghton 
Gallery,  engraved  from  the  paintings  which  formerly 
belonged  to  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  now  in  the  Imperial 
Collection  at  St.  Petersburgh,  2  vols.  folio  ;  the  Royal 
Gallery  of  Art,  Ancient  and  Modern — Engravings 
from  the  Private  Collections  of  the  Royal  Family  of 
England,   edited  by   S.   C.    Hall ;    De    Beaumont's 
Sketches  in  Denmark,  Sweden,  Lapland,  and  Nor 
way  ;  Knight's  Ecclesiastical  Architecture  of  Italy ; 
Eighty-two  prints  engraved  by  F.  Bartolozzi  from 
the  original  drawings  of  Guercino,  and  seventy -three 
from  those  of  Michael  Angelo,  Domenichino,  Anni- 
bal,   Ludovico,    and   Agostino    Carracci,    <fec.,  &c. ; 
Bradshaw's  Views  in  the  Mauritius ;  Britton's  His 
torical  and  Descriptive  Accounts  of  Ancient  English 
Cathedrals ;  Glutton's  Illustrations  of  Mediaeval  Ar 
chitecture  in  France  ;  Pyramids  of  Gizeh,  double  ele 
phant  ;  Ruins  of  the  Temples  of  Karnac  and  Luxor, 
double  elephant,  <fec.,  &c. 


396  LIBKAEIES    OF    KEW    YOKK. 

There  is  a  copy  of  Lodge's  Portraits,  of  the  original 
folio  edition  of  1821,  on  large  paper,  India  proofs, 
bound  by  Mackenzie;  Dubourg's  Views  of  the 
Remains  of  Ancient  Buildings  in  Rome  and  its 
Vicinity;  Versailles  Gallery,  in  nineteen  volumes 
folio;  National  Gallery  of  Pictures  by  Great  Mas 
ters  ;  Gallery  of  Modern  British  Artists  ;  Galerie  du 
Musee  de  France,  11  vols. ;  the  Wilkie,  Vernon,  Vi 
enna,  Dresden,  Munich,  Dusseldorf,  Luxembourg, 
Palais  Pitti,  and  Florence  Galleries  ;  the  works  of  Sir 
Thomas  Lawrence,  more  of  whose  original  paintings 
are  to  be  found  in  this  country  than  of  any  other 
European  artist.  This  artist  confined  himself  almost 
exclusively  to  portrait-painting,  in  which  his  success 
and  reputation  were  very  great.  What  with  the 
employment  afforded  him  by  his  eccentric  but  gen 
erous  sovereign,  George  the  Fourth,  the  Dilettanti 
Society,  whose  painter  he  was,  and  the  great  world 
of  fashion,  who  anxiously  sought  specimens  of  his 
work,  his  time  was  abundantly  occupied  at  highly 
remunerative  prices. 

The  collection  contains  the  Liber  Veritatis  of 
Claude  de  Lorraine.  This  distinguished  artist,  whose 
true  name  was  Claude  Gelee,  was  born  in  the  Prov 
ince  of  Lorraine,  in  France,  in  1600,  of  poor  parent 
age,  and  was  apprenticed  to  a  pastry-cook.  He 
travelled  with  some  young  .artists  to  Italy,  where  he 


MR.  STUAKT'S  COLLECTION.-  397 

entered  the  service  of  Tassi,  a  distinguished  land 
scape-painter,  as  a  cook.  While  engaged  in  this 
humble  capacity,  he  made  some  efforts  to  imitate  his 
master's  works,  but  with  such  lack  of  success  as  to 
evidence  little  natural  disposition  for  the  art.  He, 
however,  labored  so  assiduously  at  his  new  tasks,  as 
not  only  to  overcome  his  original  want  of  adaptation, 
but  in  time  to  obtain  a  reputation  as  a  landscape- 
painter  which  placed  him  by  the  side  of  Gaspar 
Poussin  and  Salvator  Rosa.  His  studies  are  said  to 
have  been  made  from  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  and 
the  magnificent  prospects  afforded  by  the  Campagna 
di  Roma.  Here  he  might  be  seen  at  early  dawn,  in 
the  brilliancy  of  noon-day,  and  at  the  set  of  sun, 
marking  the  different  effects  produced  by  the  rays 
of  the  sun  upon  the  surrounding  objects,  or  taking 
in,  with  an  attentive  and  practised  eye,  the  dreamy 
hues  which  the  vapory  haze  for  which  the  Italian 
climate  is  so  justly  noted,  cast  upon  the  various 
parts  of  the  landscape  as  they  slowly  receded  from 
his  sight.  All  these  have  been  traced  upon  his  can 
vas  with  a  fidelity  and  beauty  which  few  have  been 
able  to  equal,  and  none  to  excel.  But  the  great 
charm  of  his  pictures  is  the  exquisite  poetry  inter 
woven  in  them.  "  In  his  pictures  of  morning  the 
rising  sun  dissipates  the  dews,  and  the  fields  and 
verdure  brighten  at  the  approach  of  day.  His  even- 


398  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

ing  skies  expand  a  glowing  splendor  over  the  hori 
zon,  and  vegetation,  oppressed  by  a  sultry  aridity, 
sinks  under  the  heat  of  the  noon-day  sun." 

It  was  his  custom  to  preserve  in  a  book  the  draw 
ings  of  the  paintings  executed  by  him.  Six  of  these 
registers,  termed  by  him  Libri  di  Veritd,  were  found 
after  his  decease.  This  curious  collection,  says  Smith's 
Catalogue  Raisonne,  became  the  property  of  his  heirs, 
and  was  sold  by  one  of  his  nephews  for  two  hundred 
scucli,  to  a  Frenchman,  who  took  them  to  Paris,  and 
offered  them  to  the  king.  The  purchase  being  de 
clined,  they  were  shortly  after  bought  by  the  late 
Duke  of  Devonshire,  and  now  adorn  the  magnificent 
mansion  at  Chatsworth.  They  have  been  admirably 
imitated  in  mezzotint  by  Earlom,  and  constitute,  in 
this  shape,  the  volumes  in  Mr.  Stuart's  possession. 

There  is  an  excellent  collection  of  Bibles,  in 
cluding  many  rare  editions,  among  which  are  Tliea- 
trum  Biblicum  per  N.  Joliannis  Piscatorem,  1674; 
the  Holy  Bible,  embellished  with  Engravings  from 
Pictures  and  Designs  by  the  most  Eminent  English 
Artists,  printed  for  Thomas  Macklin  by  Thomas 
Bensley,  7  vols.  folio,  London,  1800  ;  the  Holy  Bible, 
illustrated  with  1095  Engravings,  6  vols.  12mo., 
Oxford,  1827  ;  the  Holy  Bible,  King  James's  version, 
3  vols.  royal  4to.,  large-paper,  Oxford,  1807.  This 
is  considered  one  of  the  most  correct  editions  of  the 


ME.  STUART'S  COLLECTION.  399 

authorized  English  version,  and  was  printed  as  a 
rival  to  the  standard  edition  of  the  King's  printer, 
published  in  London,  1806.  Biblia  Latina  cum  Glos- 
sa  Ordinaria  Walafrid  Strabonis,  et  Interlineari  An- 
selmi  Laudunensis,  4  vols.  imperial  folio,  is  a  fine  spec 
imen  of  early  book-making.  It  has  large  painted 
initials,  and  the  wide  margin  at  the  foot  of  the  first 
page  of  each  volume  is  beautifully  decorated  with 
the  arms  of  a  former  possessor  in  gold  and  colors, 
ornamented  with  drawings  of  flowers.  This  edition 
of  the  Bible  never  contains  any  title-pages,  and  is  with 
out  place  or  date,  but  is  supposed  to  have  been  printed 
about  1478.  This  copy  is  perfect,  though  that  in 
the  library  of  the  Sorbonne  has  been  considered  the 
only  perfect  one.  The  copy  in  the  collection  of  the 
Duke  of  Sussex  was  imperfect  in  many  particulars,  and 
the  librarian,  Dr.  Pettigrew,  says  :  "/  have  never  been 
able  to  find  another,  by  which  it  might  be  made  com 
plete."  This  Bible  is  distinguished  from  all  others 
by  having  what  is  termed  the  "  Ordinary  Gloss" — a 
commentary  selected  from  the  Fathers  and  other 
writers — and  also  an  Interlineary  Gloss.  One  of  the 
most  beautiful  books  in  the  collection  is  Biblia 
Sacra  Latina,  cum  Prologis  13.  Hieronymi  et  inter- 
pretatione  Nominum  Hebraicorum,  4to.,  MS.  Saec. 
XIII.,  on  vellum.  It  is  beautifully  written  in  a 
minute  character,  on  vellum  of  the  purest  quality 


400  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

in  double  columns,  with  the  capitals  illuminated 
in  gold  and  colors.  The  initial  letter  to  Genesis  is 
a  curious  and  uncommon  specimen  of  early  art,  ex 
hibiting  in  the  letter  I  no  less  than  eight  represent 
ations  of  Christ,  concluding  with  the  crucifixion, 
below  which  is  a  death's  head.  Several  of  the  other 
capitals  contain  miniatures  of  the  saints.  This  MS. 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Austin  friars,  and  is  headed 
with  the  following  inscription  :  "  Biblia  prcesens  est 
Monasterii  Divce  Marice  de  Populo  Romce  Sac.  Or- 
dinis Fratrmn  Heremitarum  Divi  Augustini"  The 
present  owner  purchased  it  at  the  sale  of  the 
celebrated  Libri  Collection.  Among  the  Bibles  is 
a  copy  of  "La  Biblia,  que  e$,  Los  Sacros  Libros 
del  Vieio  y  Nuevo  Testamento,  segundo  edition. 
Hevista  y  confer  ida  con  Los  Textos  Hebreos  y 
Griegos  y  con  diversas  translaciones.  Por  Cyp- 
riano  de  Valera"  folio,  Amsterdam,  1602.  This 
is  the  second  edition  of  the  version  of  Cassiodorus 
de  Reyna,  revised,  corrected,  and  compared  with  the 
originals,  and  with  other  translations,  by  Cyprian  de 
Valera.  It  commences  with  an  exhortation  to  the 
Christian  reader,  from  which  it  appears  that  the 
attention  of  Valera  was  engaged  twenty  years  on 
this  work.  It  was  printed  at  the  expense  of  sev 
eral  pious  men.  The  notes  in  this  edition  are  new. 
In  a  few  places,  and  with  great  caution  the  text  has 


MR.  STUART'S  COLLECTION.  401 

been  changed  from  De  Reyna's  edition.  These  two 
editions  are  the  only  ones  translated  into  Spanish 
directly  from  the  originals.  The  Psalms  are  said  to 
possess  more  than  the  fidelity  and  beauty  of  the 
English  translation  of  1611,  while  the  Lamentations 
of  Jeremiah  are  quite  equal  to  the  Hebrew  original. 
There  are  only  two  other  copies  of  this  book  known. 

Cyprian  de  Valera,  a  Spaniard,  was  born  about  the 
year  1532.  He  embraced  the  principles  of  the  Ref 
ormation,  quitted  his  native  country  and  went  over 
to  England,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
life. 

In  the  department  of  Ecclesiastical  History,  there 
is  a  good  collection,  containing  about  two  hundred 
volumes  of  the  best  works,  both  ancient  and 
modern. 

The  library  is  rich  in  Bibliographical  Works, 
among  which  are  those  of  Dibdin,  Lowndes,  Rich, 
Thomas,  Edwards,  &c.,  &c. 

In  Poetry,  the  collection  contains  many  of  the 
works  of  the  best  authors,  among  which  may  be  men 
tioned  Tyrwhitt's  edition  of  Chaucer's  Canterbury 
Tales,  2  vols.  4to.,  Clarendon  press,  Oxford,  1798  ; 
Milton's  works,  edited  by  Todd,  6  vols.  imperial  8vo., 
largest  paper,  London,  1801,  with  an  additional  vol 
ume,  same  size,  containing  the  life  of  the  author,  with 

a  verbal   index   to   all   his  poetry;    and   Spenser's 
51 


402  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

works,  edited  by  Todd,  8  vols.  imperial  8vo.,  large 
paper,  London,  1805. 

The  following  works  are  worthy  of  notice,  on 
account  of  their  beauty  or  rarity.  La  Touraine, 
folio,  Tours.  At  the  World's  Fair  in  London,  1851, 
the  premium  was  awarded  to  a  book  printed  at  the 
Imperial  press  of  Vienna,  as  the  best  specimen  of 
printing  exhibited.  This  was  considered  unjust  by 
the  French  printers,  who  said  a  better  book  could  be 
produced  in  any  provincial  town  of  France  containing 
ten  thousand  inhabitants.  La  Touraine  was  got  up 
to  show  the  truth  of  this  assertion,  and  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  result  is  not  in  favor  of  the  Impe 
rial  Austrian  press,  but  fully  establishes  the  claim 
of  the  French  to  the  highest  excellence  in  book-mak 
ing.  A  beautiful  Collection  of  Drawings  of  Flowers, 
in  water  colors,  on  vellum,  executed  by  a  German 
artist  of  the  XVIIth  century,  small  folio.  This 
unique  and  most  superb  series  comprises  one  hun 
dred  and  thirty-one  drawings,  from  the  celebrated 
Sagrado  Collection,  at  Venice,  sold  in  1775,  and 
afterward  from  Mr.  Ottley's  collection.  There  is 
a  naturalness,  softness,  and  beauty,  combined  with 
great  vigor,  in  the  style  of  these  drawings,  which 
indicate  on  the  part  of  the  artist,  talent  of  a  high 
order,  while  the  subjects  treated  comprise  some  of 
the  choicest  of  Flora's  offerings.  This  MS.  formerly 


MK.  STUAKT'S  COLLECTION.  403 

belonged  to  the  poet  Samuel  Rogers.  Seneca  (L. 
A.)  Opera  Morality  Marcii  Dedamationes,  ac  Lucii 
Epwtolce,  folio,  Tarvisii  per  Bernardum  de  Colo- 
nia,  1478 — a  splendid  specimen  of  early  printing, 
and  in  fine  condition,  full  bound  in  red  morocco. 
Increase  Mather's  "Heaven's  Alarm,"  Boston,  1682  ; 
Hooke's  "  New  England's  Tears  for  Old  England's 
Fears,"  London,  1641 ;  Bonaventure's  BiUia  Pan- 
perum,  4to.,  1690  ;  Brant's  (the  Indian  Chief),  Mo 
hawk  Prayer-Book,  8vo.,  London,  1787  ;  De  Godoy's 
Pompa  Funeral  en  la  muerte,  y  Exequias,  del  Doctor 
D.  Joan  de  Salzedo,  small  4to.,  Mexico,  1626.  This 
book  was  printed  fourteen  years  earlier  than  the 
Bay  Psalm  Book,  which  is  considered  the  oldest 
specimen  of  printing  in  the  United  States. 

The  number  of  volumes  is  no  just  criterion  by 
which  to  judge  of  the  value  and  cost  of  this  mag 
nificent  collection.  An  unusually  large  proportion 
of  them  are  in  folio,  especially  of  the  Illustrated 
works,  and  of  those  on  Natural  History.  In  the  brief 
survey  made  of  the  library  in  this  article,  it  was 
not  thought  advisable  to  describe  the  binding  and 
condition  of  particular  books,  except  in  a  very  few 
instances.  It  is  proper,  however,  to  say  generally, 
that  many  of  them  are  large-paper  copies,  and  that 
those  in  boards  or  cloth  are  mostly  uncut,  while 
those  which  are  bound,  are  done  in  the  best  manner, 


404  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

by  the  first  binders  in  this  country  and  Europe. 
Many  of  the  Illustrated  Works,  as  well  as  a  large 
number  of  those  on  Natural  History,  are  in  superb 
morocco  bindings. 

This  collection  has  been  formed  by  the  gradual 
purchase  of  books  during  a  period  of  twenty-five 
years,  in  all  which  time  its  possessor  has  been  exten 
sively  occupied  in  business  pursuits.  It  is  gratifying 
to  note,  among  those  whose  occupations  do  not  par 
ticularly  predispose  them  to  literature,  instances  like 
the  present,  where  books  are  not  only  valued,  but 
where  the  library  forms  the  chief  object  of  attraction 
in  the  residence  of  its  possessor.  With  an  excellent 
beginning,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  Mr.  Stuart  will  con 
tinue  the  Natural  History  collection,  which  forms  a 
distinctive  feature  in  this  library. 


CHARLES  M.  WHEATLEY'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  is  a  small  collection,  containing  not  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  volumes,  consisting  for  the  most 
part  of  works  on  Mining,  Mineralogy,  Geology,  and 
Natural  History.  The  collection  of  works  on  Min 
ing  and  Mine  Engineering  is  probably  as  complete 
as  any  in  this  country.  Of  these,  Agricola's  De  re 
Metcillica,  some  three  hundred  years  old,  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting.  It  contains  notices  of  the  com 
mencement  of  the  mines  of  Freiberg,  Goslar,  Crem- 
nitz,  and  Schemnitz,  the  ceremony  of  taking  posses 
sion,  modes  of  working,  and  machinery  used  in  the 
mines.  The  plates  of  water-wheels,  stamps,  and 
pumps,  for  raising,  dressing,  and  preparing  the  ores, 
and  for  smelting,  are  very  curious,  showing  at  that 
early  period  in  the  history  of  mining,  great  perfection 
in  the  art.  Among  the  plates  are  chain-pumps, 
horse-powers  and  machinery  for  separating  ores,  cor 
responding  to  those  in  use  at  the  present  day. 
There  are  also  some  curious  old  works  in  the  collec 
tion,  as  Diodorus  Siculus's  History  of  the  World ; 


406  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

The  Mirror  of  Stones,  by  Camillas  Leonardus,  1502; 
Hardy's  Miner's  Guide,  1748,  which  contains  an 
account  of  the  loadstone,  with  the  invention  of  the 
compass,  and  a  description  of  mineral  veins,  and 
mining  laws  and  customs ;  Gesner's  De  omni  rerum 
Fossilium,  genere  gemmis  lapidibus,  Metallis,  &c., 
Tiguri,  1565;  Unwin  on  Tin;  Behren's  Natural  His 
tory  of  the  Hartz  Forest ;  and  the  "  Golden  Treasury, 
or  Compleat  Minor,"  London,  1698,  "  being  Royal 
Institutions,  or  Proposals  to  Establish  and  Confirm 
Laws,  Liberties,  and  Customs  of  Silver  and  Gold 
Mines  to  all  the  King's  Subjects  in  such  parts  of 
Africa  and  America  which  are  Now  and  Shall  Be 
Annexed  to  and  Dependant  on  the  Crown  of  Eng 
land  ;"  Pryce's  Mineralogia  Gornubiensis  /  "  A  Treat 
ise  on  Minerals,  Mines,  and  Mining,  containing  the 
Theory  and  Natural  History  of  Strata,  Fissures  and 
Lodes,  with  the  Methods  of  Discovering  and  Work 
ing  Tin,  Copper,  and  Lead  Mines ;"  Henckel's  Pyrit- 
ologie ;  Glauber's  works,  to  whom  the  w^orld  is  in 
debted  for  the  discovery  of  the  compound  known  as 
"  Glauber  Salts" ;  Delin's  Traite  des  Mines  ;  Bericlit 
von  Bergwercken  Lolmeyez,  1690 ;  Reports  on  Rus 
sian  Mines,  in  the  Russian  language ;  Burat's  Geo- 
logie  Applique ;  Combe's  Traite  des  Mines ;  and 
Journal  des  Mines  de  Russie,  5  vols.  8vo.,  published 
at  St.  Petersburgh,  1835-42,  which  contains  full 


ME.   WHEATLEY'S  COLLECTION.  407 

descriptions  of  the  mines  of  Russia,  and  the  machin 
ery  used  in  working  them;  also,  a  Description  of 
the  Mineral  Forges  and  the  Saline  Works  of  the  Py 
renees  ;  Villefosse's  De  la  Hicliesse  Minerale  ;  Laws 
of  the  Stannaries  of  Cornwall,  Bainbridge's  Laws  of 
Mines  and  Minerals  ;  Collier's  Law  of  Mines  ;  Mining 
Laws  of  New  Spain ;  and  Opera  Mineralia  Expli- 
cata,  "  or  the  Mineral  Kingdom  within  the  Domin 
ions  of  Great  Britain  Displayed,  being  a  complete 
History  of  the  Ancient  Corporations  of  the  City  of 
London,  of  and  for  the  Mines,  the  Mineral,  and  the 
Battery  works,  with  all  the  Original  Grants,  Leases, 
Instruments,  &c.,  and  also  the  Records  of  the  said 
Mineral  Courts,  from  the  Conquest  down  to  the  year 
1713."  This  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  book. 
Likewise,  a  copy  of  the  first  lease  of  the  mines  to 
William  Humfrey  and  Christopher  Schutz,  dated 
17th  September,  VHth  Elizabeth,  containing  the 
most  extensive  mining  grants  ever  given  to  a  British 
subject. 

Of  works  treating  of  Coal  and  Coal-mining,  there 
are  Mammalt's  Ashley  Coal  Field,  containing  plans 
and  sections  of  coal  strata  and  fossils ;  Greenwell's 
Treatise  on  Mine  Engineering ;  English  Parliament 
ary  Reports,  on  the  working  and  ventilation  of  coal 
mines,  7  vols.  folio ;  Hedley,  Dunn,  Taylor,  Smith, 
Holmes,  Sopwith,  and  Thompson  on  Coal  Mines; 


408  LIBBAEIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Johnson's  Report  on  American  Coals ;  Hair's  Sketches 
of  Coal  Mines,  cfec. ;  and  also  the  great  work  of 
Ponson  on  Coal  Mining,  4  vols.  8vo.,  and  folio  atlas 
of  plates — one  of  the  most  important  works  on  the 
subject. 

Of  works  on  Mineralogy,  there  are  all  the  edi 
tions  of  Dana's  Mineralogy ;  Molis,  Cleaveland, 
Thomson,  Phillips,  Mcol,  Cronstedt,  Breithaupt, 
Brookes,  Schmeissers,  Konsten,  Townson,  Henckel, 
Brongniart,  Mongez,  Haiiy,  Kirwan,  Bom,  &c. ;  Sow- 
erby's  British  Mineralogy,  with  colored  figures  of 
minerals,  intended  to  elucidate  the  mineralogy  of 
Great  Britain,  5  vols.  8vo.,  most  beautifully  executed; 
also,  Sowerby's  Exotic  Mineralogy,  with  colored  fig 
ures  of  minerals ;  Specimens  of  British  Minerals,  with 
colored  figures  selected  from  specimens  in  the  cabinet 
of  Philip  Rashleigh,  of  Cornwall ;  Wulfens,  Plumbo, 
Spatoso,  with  colored  figures  of  the  lead  spars  of 
Corinthia,  1791,  exceedingly  accurate ;  Bowman  on 
Carbonate  of  Lime ;  and  Aikin's  Dictionary  of  Chem 
istry  and  Mineralogy,  2  vols.  4to. 

Of  Transactions  of  Scientific  Societies  there  are 
the  Transactions  of  the  North  of  England  Institute  of 
Mining  Engineers ;  Royal  Cornwall  Polytechnic  So 
ciety  ;  Geological  Society  of  Cornwall ;  Records  of 
the  School  of  Mines ;  Memoirs  of  the  Geological  Sur 
vey  of  Great  Britain ;  Mining  Review ;  a  complete 


MR.  WHEATLEY'S  COLLECTION.  409 

set  of  the  London  Mining  Journal ;  Transactions  of 
the  Imperial  Mineralogical  Society,  St.  Petersburg!! ; 
and  of  the  Lyceum  of  Natural  History,  New  York. 
In  Geology  and  Natural  History,  there  is  the  Natu 
ral  History  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedi 
tion  ;  Murchison's  Russia  and  the  Ural  Mountains ; 
De  la  Beche's  Survey  of  Cornwall :  Portlock's  Ge 
ology  of  Londonderry ;  Dixon's  Geology  of  Sussex  ; 
Mantell's  Geology  of  Sussex;  and  the  works  of 
Murchison,  Lyell,  Mantell,  and  De  la  Beche.  Mr. 
Wheatley's  collection  contains  all  the  Geological 
Surveys  of  the  several  states,  as  far  as  published, 
mining  reports,  plans,  and  sections  of  mines. 

On  the  Steam-Engine  the  collection  contains  Tred- 
gold's  large  work ;  Pole  on  the  Cornish  Engine ; 
Wickstead  on  the  Cornish  Engine,  and  Bourne  on 
the  Steam  Engine. 

The  specialty  to  which  this  collection  is  devoted 
is  one  of  the  first  importance,  and  gives  direction  to 
the  employment  of  a  vast  amount  of  capital;  yet 
it  is  one  in  which  the  public  libraries  are  very  defi 
cient.  It  is  questionable  whether  the  limited  scope 
afforded  by  this  little  library  may  not  place  within 
reach  of  the  geological  student  a  more  complete  ap 
paratus  for  investigation  than  any  of  the  great  libra 
ries  of  New  York,  accessible  to  the  public. 

Mr.  Wheatley  has  also  one  of  the  most  complete 
52 


410  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

mineralogical  collections  in  this  country.  The  col 
lection  contains  six  thousand  specimens,  most  of 
them  of  great  beauty  and  rarity.  It  was  the  inten 
tion  of  the  owner,  to  deposit  this  collection  with 
the  American  School  of  Mines,  but  as  no  suitable 
provision  was  made  to  receive  it,  it  has,  within  a 
short  period  been  transferred  to  Union  College,  by 
purchase. 

Professor  Silliman,  in  his  Reports  on  the  Minera 
logical  Department  of  the  Crystal  Palace,  in  Nos.  Y 
and  8  of  the  Illustrated  Record,  has  the  following : 
"  We  speak  understandingly,  and  without  exagger 
ation,  when  we  say  that  the  sulphates  and  molybdo- 
chromates  of  lead,  in  Mr.  Wheatley's  collection,  are 
the  most  magnificent  metallic  salts  ever  obtained  in 
lead  mining,  and  unequalled  by  any  thing  we  have 
seen  in  the  cabinets  of  Europe." 


RICHARD  GRANT  WHITE'S  LIBRARY. 


THIS  collection,  which  the  possessor  hardly  digni 
fies  with  the  name  of  library,  includes  about  four 
thousand  five  hundred  volumes.  It  is  not  complete 
in  any  one  department ;  nor  has  completeness  been 
sought  in  any  department  but  one,  it  having  accu 
mulated  in  the  course  of  Mr.  White's  study  of  liter 
ature  and  art,  round  a  small,  but  valuable  nucleus 
inherited  from  his  father  and  his  grandfather — an 
accomplished  scholar  and  divine,  whose  conversion 
from  the  Church  of  England  to  the  Church  of  Rome 
attracted  some  attention  about  forty  years  ago.  It 
is  richest  in  Shakespearian  literature,  in  the  Drama, 
in  English  Poetry,  in  Black-letter  books,  and  in 
works  upon  Music  and  the  Arts  of  Design ;  but  it 
is  not  without  a  respectable  array  of  volumes  in  all 
those  departments  of  letters,  except  Biography, 
which  are  of  interest  to  cultivated  readers. 

The  collection  is  noticeable  on  account  of  the 
character  and  condition  of  the  books  which  compose 
it.  For  although  it  does  not  contain  many  volumes 


412  LLBKAKIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

which  bibliomaniacs  would  regard  as  of  great  rarity 
and  price,  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  it  might 
properly  be  designated  as  "  scarce,"  and  no  book  has 
been  admitted  to  it  which  is  without  a  recognized 
value.  Care  has  also  been  taken  to  procure  the 
best  attainable  copies  of  the  best  editions,  and,  in 
case  of  certain  authors,  the  first  edition  if  possible, 
with  the  most  interesting  and  valuable  of  its  succes 
sors.  The  greater  part  of  the  collection  is  well  bound, 
and  so  much  of  it  with  unusual  excellence  and  beauty 
of  workmanship,  as  to  make  this  feature  noticeable. 
Fine  specimens  of  the  work  of  Hayday,  Lewis,  Clarke, 
Bedford,  Mackenzie,  Wright,  and  Riviere  of  Eng 
land;  Derome,  Duru,  Medree,  Cape,  and  Lortic,  of 
France,  Matthews  of  New  York,  and  Pawson  and 
Nicholson  of  Philadelphia,  are  not  uncommon  upon 
Mr.  White's  shelves.  Many  of  his  books  are  pre 
sentation  copies  with  the  author's  autograph,  and 
often  a  letter,  inserted.  Others  are  enriched  with 
extracts  from  English  Reviews  and  journals ;  and 
not  a  few  are  illustrated  with  portraits  and  views, 
which  have  been  procured  especially  for  them.  In  one 
respect  the  collection  is  particularly  worthy  of  note 
—it  does  not  contain  a  single  book  "  pirated"  from  a 
British  author. 

In  noticing  this  collection,  it  will  be  most  conve 
nient  to  follow  the  guidance  of  Mr.  White's  catalogue, 


MR.    WHITES    COLLECTION.  413 

In  which  titles  are  arranged  alphabetically  under 
subject-heads. 

There  is  quite  a  handsome  array  of  works  upon 
Angling ;  fine  copies,  some  upon  large  paper,  with 
proofs  of  the  illustrations,  some  with  special  illus 
trations,  and  all  elegantly  bound.  But  there  is  no 
book  of  particular  interest  in  this  department  except 
a  good  copy  of  the  original  edition  of  "  The  Compleat 
Angler,"  wrhich  formerly  belonged  to  the  well  known 
English  Antiquarian,  Thomas  Jolley. 

In  the  department  of  Antiquities,  there  is  a  little 
collection  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  volumes, 
all  works  of  value,  and  in  the  finest  possible  condition. 
Among  the  few  worthy  of  special  mention  here,  are 
a  copy  of  Salomon's  Historical  Description  of  An 
cient  and  Modern  Rome,  &c.,  2  vols.  8vo.,  which  has 
been  copiously  illustrated  with  engravings,  etchings, 
and  drawings  of  the  works  of  art,  ruins,  and  public 
buildings  now  existing  in  the  city  of  the  Caesars  and 
the  Popes;  and  a  copy  of  Sertorio  Orsato's  work 
on  the  Inscriptions  found  upon  Ancient  Marbles 
and  Bronzes,  which  belonged  to  the  poet  Gray,  and 
has  his  elegant  and  exquisitely  neat  autograph  upon 
the  title-page.  To  these  may  be  added  a  copy  of 
Shaw's  superbly  illustrated  Dresses  and  Decorations 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  which  is  somewhat  noticeable 
from  the  very  rich  and.  characteristic  garb  in  which 


414  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Wright  lias  clothed  it.  Here,  too,  may  be  properly 
mentioned  a  fine  copy  of  Csesare  Vecelli's  Habit 4 
Anticlii  e  Moderni  di  tutto  il  mondo,  8vo.,  Yenetia, 
1598.  This  work  contains  over  five  hundred  wood 
cut  illustrations,  one  on  each  page,  which  are  drawn 
in  such  a  masterly  style  that  it  was  for  a  long  time 
believed  that  they  were  from  the  pencil  of  Tiziaiio 
Vecelli,  the  author's  illustrious  kinsman.  But  there 
appears  to  have  been  no  substantial  foundation  to 
this  tradition.  This  is  the  work  which  is  so  fre 
quently  alluded  to  in  Mr.  Charles  Knight's  edition 
of  Shakespeare,  and  in  Mr.  White's  own,  as  authority 
for  the  costume  of  many  of  the  great  dramatist's 
plays.  And  under  this  head  it  is  perhaps  in  place 
to  notice  a  curious  and  interesting,  though  sadly 
mutilated  little  volume  of  illuminations  upon  vellum, 
illustrative  of  Italian  costume.  Its  date  is  not  later 
than  the  first  quarter  of  the  XVIIth  century ;  for  it 
was  rebound  in  1644,  according  to  the  date  stamped 
upon  the  cover.  The  costume  and  the  style  of  its 
execution,  too,  indicate  the  former  period  as  that  at 
which  it  was  produced.  Some  of  its  figures  are  not 
only  exceedingly  curious,  but  painted  in  the  very 
finest  style  of  the  Flemish  miniature  work  upon 
vellum.  In  addition  to  the  costumes,  there  are  plans 
and  views  of  cities ;  some  of  the  latter  showing  sin 
gular  ceremonies,  and  all  of  microscopic  minuteness 


ME.  WHITE'S  COLLECTION.  415 

and  accuracy.  It  seems  that  there  were  originally 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  paintings,  but  of  these 
one-half  are  gone,  and  of  the  remainder,  the  greater 
part  are  more  or  less  injured. 

In  the  general  department  of  Art  (exclusive  of 
the  specialties  Music  and  Painting),  there  is 
nothing  worthy  of  note  except  a  handsome  copy 
of  D'Agincourt's  Histoire  de  UArt  par  ses  Monu 
ments,  3  vols.  folio,  and  a  fine  set  of  Winkleman's 
works. 

Bibliography  is  represented  by  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  volumes,  among  which  are  some  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  Dibdin's  well-known  books,  some 
of  them  upon  large  paper.  The  copy  of  the  Remi 
niscences  is  a  presentation  copy.  There  are  some 
catalogues  of  celebrated  libraries,  such  as  those  of 
Heber,  Bright,  Strawberry  Hill,  Stowe,  Gordonstoun, 
Abbotsford,  the  White  Knights,  Steevens,  McCarthy, 
Reah,  Renouard,  &c.,  &c.,  which  are  desirable  from 
being  all  priced.  Here  is  to  be  noticed  a  large-paper 
copy  of  Clarke's  Repertorium  Bibliographicum,  pub 
lished  in  one  volume,  8vo.,  but  made  into  two  as 
large  as  the  original  one,  by  the  insertion  of  a  por 
trait  and  a  view,  if  such  existed,  of  every  person  and 
place  mentioned  in  the  work.  There  is  also  a  copy 
of  Lowndes's  Bibliographer's  Manual,  Pickering's 
edition,  4  vols.  8vo.,  made  into  six  by  interleaving  ; 


416  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

extra  fac-simile  titles  for  the  fifth  and  sixth  volumes 
having  been  printed  expressly  for  this  copy. 

The  Drama,  exclusive  of  Shakespeariana,  furnishes 
somewhat  more  than  four  hundred  and  fifty  volumes, 
among  which  are  many  4to.  plays,  published  at  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  seven 
teenth  century,  some  of  them  noticeable  for  their 
rarity  and  interest.  Of  no  dramatist,  however,  is  there 
a  complete  set  of  first  editions  earlier  than  Dryden  ; 
but  all  the  noted  play-wrights  from  the  time  of  "  glo 
rious  John"  up  to  that  of  Shakespeare,  furnish  some 
specimens  to  this  department  of  the  dramatic  collec 
tion.  The  Drama  from  the  time  of  Dryden  to  the 
present  day  seems  not  to  have  especially  engaged 
Mr.  White's  attention,  as  his  shelves  show  but  few 
copies  of  the  plays  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  orig 
inal  editions.  It  is,  however,  well  supplied  with  the 
various  collections  which  have  been  published  of 
English  plays  of  all  periods,  and  among  these,  a  copy 
of  Bell's  British  Theatre,  in  34  vols.  large  paper,  is 
noticeable  from  the  fact  that  its  illustrations  through 
out  are  artist^  proofs.  This  is  the  edition  of  1791, 
prepared  for  the  press  after  John  Kemble  had 
reformed  the  costume  of  the  stage.  There  is  also  a 
large-paper  copy  of  the  edition  of  1776,  with  its  Lady 
Macbeths  in  hoops,  farthingales,  high  cushioned  head 
dresses,  its  Othellos  in  scarlet  laced  coats  and  knee- 


MR.  WHITE'S  COLLECTION. 


breeches,  and  its  Hamlets  in  full-bottomed  wigs.  Two 
small  volumes  devoted  to  the  costumes  of  characters 
on  the  French  and  English  stage,  and  published  in  the 
third  quarter  of  the  last  century,  are  also  of  interest  to 
the  dramatic  student.  In  this  department  are  fine 
copies  of  the  original  folios  of  Ben  Jonson's  wrorks  ; 
Gilford's  edition  of  the  same  author  upon  large  paper  ; 
the  first  edition  of  Moliere's  plays,  printed  at  various 
times  by  Dan.  Elzevir,  and  published  at  Amster 
dam  in  1675,  in  5  vols.  minute  12mo.,  a  rare  and 
much  sought  book,  this  copy  of  which  is  so  exqui 
sitely  bound  by  Cape,  in  crimson  morocco,  that  a 
well-known  bibliophile  said  that  each  volume  was 
worthy  of  being  set,  like  a  jewel,  in  a  ring  ;  copies 
of  the  fac-simile  reprints  of  the  old  French  Moralites, 
printed  in  very  small  editions  at  the  expense  of  the 
Prince  D'Essling  ;  a  remarkably  fine  copy  of  the 
exceedingly  rare  Editio  Princeps  of  Plautus,  printed 
by  John  de  Colonia  and  Vindelin  de  Spira  at  Ven 
ice,  in  1472  ;  and  a  sound  and  handsome  copy  of 
"  Seneca,  his  Tenne  Tragedies,  translated  into  Eng 
lish"  by  Jasper  Heywood,  Thomas  Newton,  John 
Studley,  Alexander  Nevile,  and  Thomas  Nuce,  4to., 
London,  1581,  a  book  of  which  the  possessor  de 
tects  traces  in  the  works  of  Shakespeare.  Some  spe 
cially  illustrated  books  also  claim  attention  ;  among 

them  Boaden's  Memoirs  of  John  Philip  Kemble,  of 
53 


418  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Mrs.  Siddons,  and  of  Mrs.  Jordan,  each  in  2  vols. 
8vo. ;  and  a  copy  of  Leigh  Hunt's  Critical  Essays  on 
the  Performers  at  the  London  Theatres,  crown  8vo.7 
London,  1807,  a  work  of  very  valuable  dramatic 
criticism,  which  has  become  quite  scarce,  and  this 
copy  of  which  is  richly  illustrated  with  portraits  in 
and  out  of  character. 

History  is  not  even  a  comparatively  strong  depart 
ment  in  this  collection,  to  which  it  furnishes  little 
more  than  two  hundred  volumes.  Among  these,  of 
course  the  well  known  standard  works  in  English, 
French,  and  Latin,  are  not  here  noticeable,  however 
fine  the  copies;  but  a  few  volumes  are  worthy  of 
remark.  A  copy  of  Robert  Carey's  (Earl  of  Mon- 
mouth)  Memoirs,  bound  up  with  Naunton's  Frag- 
menta  Regalia,  both  on  large  paper,  and  richly  illus 
trated  with  additional  portraits.  Antonio  Campo's 
Historia  de  Cremona,  4to.,  Milan,  1645,  illustrated 
with  engravings  by  Agostino  Carracci.  Clarendon's 
History  of  the  Rebellion  and  Civil  Wars  in  Eng 
land,  in  2  vols.  imperial  8vo.,  copiously  illustrated 
with  portraits  from  the  4to.  edition  of  Lodge's  well 
known  work,  all  of  the  impressions  very  fine,  and 
most  of  them  proofs  on  India  paper.  A  very  fine 
copy  of  Froissart's  famous  w^ork,  Les  croniqiies  de 
f ranee,  dangleterre,  descooe,  despaigme,  de  bretaigne, 
de  gascogne,  de  flandres,  JEt  lieux  circonuoisins,  in 


ME.  WHITE'S  COLLECTION.  419 

4  vols.  small  folio ;  according  to  the  colophon,  im- 
prirne  a  Paris  Lan  de  grace  milcing  cens  et  dix  Imyt 
le  xn.  iour  doctobre  pour  Antlwine  verard  demourant 
deudt  la  rue  neufe  nostre  dame.  This  rare  book  has 
been  touched  here  and  there  by  the  worm ;  but  is 
in  all  other  respects  as  fresh  and  sound  as  when  it 
first  came  from  Verard' s  press ;  and  it  is  bound  by 
Wright  very  admirably  in  imitation  of  the  style  in 
vogue  at  the  time  of  its  publication.  Of  the  same 
author  there  is  a  copy  of  Bouchon's  edition,  the 
backs  of  which  show  some  exquisite  tooling  by 
Lortic. 

The  two  well-known  English  chroniclers  are 
here  in  unusually  fine  copies.  Hall,  in  the  edition 
of  1548,  having  the  title-page,  and  at  the  end  the 
wood-cut  (generally  lacking),  which  represents 
Henry  VIII.  sitting  in  council;  and  Holinshed  in 
the  edition  of  1587,  with  the  castrations,  this  copy 
having  been  made  unique  by  the  emblazoning  in 
colors  upon  its  margins,  of  the  arms  of  the  principal 
personages  named  by  the  chronicler.  A  copy  of 
Paulus  Jovius's  Elogia  virorum  bellica  virtute  illus- 
trium,  folio,  Basil,  1575,  with  portraits ;  one  of  the 
Mer  des  Histoires,  folio,  Paris,  1543,  rich  in  hideous 
wood-cuts,  which  illustrate  the  superstitions,  the 
manners,  and  the  costume  of  the  period  of  its  pub 
lication  ;  and  a  remarkably  fine  copy  of  the  Nurem- 


420  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

berg  Chronicle,  folio,  1493,  are  worthy  to  be  men 
tioned. 

In  the  Department  of  Language,  although  it  is 
comparatively  full,  only  a  set  of  "  resolute"  John 
Florio's  works,  and  a  copy  of  John  Withal' s  "  Short 
(English-Latin)  Dictionarie  for  Yonge  Beginners," 
4to.,  1568,  bound  in  crimson  morocco,  and  an  ex 
quisite  specimen  of  Mackenzie's  line-tooling,  are 
noteworthy. 

Of  Literary  History  and  Criticism  there  are  one 
hundred  and  fifty  volumes ;  a  comparatively  small 
number  upon  two  subjects,  one  of  which  dates  back 
to  Aristotle,  and  comes  down  to  the  man  who  wrote 
yesterday.  Of  the  Stagyrite's  foundation  work,  De 
Poetica,  there  is  a  copy  of  the  elegant  edition  edited 
by  Tyrwhitt,  and  published  by  his  college  at  Oxford 
in  his  honor.  This  copy  is  on  large  paper,  and  is  from 
the  library  of  Viscount  Mountjoy.  Of  the  rarity  and 
value  of  the  large  paper  copies  of  this  book,  Dibdin 
speaks  in  somewhat  unmeasured  terms.  A  copy  of 
Lorenzo  Crasso's  Elogii  cVHuomini  Letterati,  2 
vols.  4to.,  Venice,  1666,  is  noticeable  for  the  numer 
ous  fine  portraits  with  which  it  is  illustrated.  A 
unique  book  of  unusual  interest  to  the  biblio 
phile  in  this  department  is  the  copy  of  Ancient  and 
Critical  Essays  upon  English  Poets  and  Poesy,  ed 
ited  by  Joseph  Hazlewood,  2  vols.  4to.,  London, 


MR.  WHITE'S  COLLECTION.'  421 

1815.  This  is  Hazlewood's  own  copy,  and  it  is 
enriched  and  decorated  by  him  in  the  most  extrava 
gant  style  of  the  bibliomaniac  school  in  which  he 
held  so  eminent  a  position.  It  is  illustrated  through 
out  with  portraits,  some  of  which  are  very  rare :  it 
contains  all  the  letters  which  the  editor  received  in 
relation  to  it  from  the  eminent  literary  antiquarians 
of  his  day ;  and  not  only  these,  but  all  the  collations 
and  memoranda  of  any  consequence  which  were 
made  for  him  during  its  progress,  frequently  by  men 
of  literary  distinction.  To  these  are  added  all  the 
announcements  of  the  work,  together  with  the  im 
pressions  of  twelve  cancelled  pages,  printed  four  in 
one  form  and  eight  in  another,  apparently  by  way  of 
experiment,  with  other  cancelled  matter  ;  tracings  of 
the  fac-simile  wood-cuts  of  the  title  to  Puttenham's 
"  Arte  of  English  Poesie,"  with  a  proof  of  it  on 
India  paper,  and  three  impressions  of  this  title,  one 
all  in  black,  one  with  the  letter  in  black  and  the 
device  in  red,  and  the  third  vice  versa  •  tracings  for, 
and  proofs  of  other  wood-cuts ;  an  impression  of  a 
leaf  printed  to  be  put  into  a  single  copy  of  the  work, 
&c.,  &c. ;  for  we  must  stop,  although  we  have  but 
indicated  the  nature  rather  than  the  quantity  of  the 
matter,  all  of  it  unique,  which  gives  this  book  its 
peculiar  value.  But  it  should  be  remarked  besides, 
that  the  editorial  part  of  the  work  is  interleaved  for 


422  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

the  purpose  of  receiving  Mr.  Hazlewood's  explana 
tions  and  corrections,  and  those  that  he  received  from 
literary  friends,  which  alone  would  give  this  copy  a 
singular  interest.  It  is  bound  by  Clarke  in  maroon 
morocco.  A  copy  of  Longinus's  treatise  De  Sulli- 
mitate,  printed  by  Bodoni  in  1793,  large  4to.  (with 
the  preface),  is  also  worthy  of  attention,  though 
it  hardly  belongs  to  this  department.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  books  ever  issued  from  the 
Bodonian  press.  Its  Italian,  Greek,  and  Roman 
letters  have  the  elegance  and  sharpness  of  the  finest 
engraving,  with,  of  course,  a  uniformity  which  en 
graving  could  not  attain ;  and  the  color  of  its  ink  is 
so  even,  as  well  as  so  rich  and  brilliant,  that  all  of 
its  pages  seem  to  have  been  struck  at  a  single 
impression.  Its  covers  are  tooled  in  the  Grollier 
style,  by  Pawson  and  Nicholson.  In  this  depart 
ment  Henry  Peacham's  "  Garden  of  Eloquence," 
4to.,  London,  1577,  is  noteworthy.  In  the  minute 
ness  and  subtlety  of  its  rhetorical  criticism,  but  in 
no  other  respect,  it  puts  Blair  and  the  other  modern 
writers  to  shame.  Perhaps  a  copy  of  Nicholas  Udall's 
"Flowers  of  Eloquence;  Phrases  of  the  Latine 
Speech"  (selected  and  translated  from  the  Comedies 
of  Terence),  16mo.,  London,  1581,  is  a  sufficiently 
uncommon  book  to  be  mentioned. 

Many  of  the  books  in  this  collection  are  catalogued 


ME.  WHITE'S  COLLECTION.  '  423 

under  the  heading  "  Miscellaneous ;"  and  among 
these  the  following  attract  attention:  a  complete 
set  of  Sir  Thomas  Browne's  works  in  first  editions  ; 
a  copy  of  the  ProverUos  Morales  of  Alonso  de 
Barros,  16mo.,  Madrid,  1598 — an  edition  unknown 
even  to  Brunei  Of  the  edition  of  1607  he  says: 
"Cette  edition,  pen  commune  rtest  pas  la  premiere  des 
ces  poesies  espagnoles,  puisqd  Antonio  en  cite  nn  de 
Madrid,  1601 !"  This  copy  is  most  exquisitely 
bound  in  puce-colored  morocco,  by  Lortic.  Roger 
Bacon's  "Mirror  of  Alchimy,"  4to.,  1597;  Burton's 
Anatomy  of  Melancholy,  in  the  first  edition,  4to., 
Oxford,  1621 ;  Thomas  Coghan's  Haven  of  Health, 
4to.,  1584.  Lowndes  gives  1589  as  the  date  of  the 
first  edition,  adding,  "  Wood  notices  an  edition  of 
1586."  Archbishop  Laud's  copy  of  Coke  upon 
Littleton;  "A  Compendious  or  briefe  examination 
of  certayne  ordinary  complaints,  of  divers  of  our 
country  men  in  these  our  dayes,"  &c.  By  W.  S., 
Gentleman,  4to.,  1581.  This  has  been  reprinted,  and 
erroneously  attributed  to  Shakespeare.  It  is  a  tract 
upon  political  economy,  in  which  Mr.  Carey  might 
have  found  most  of  his  arguments  in  favor  of  a  pro 
tective  policy.  Cranmer's  Confutation  of  Unwritten 
Verities,  4to.,  1582;  Dodoen's  "Niewe  Herball," 
folio,  1578 ;  Dekker's  Bellman  of  London,  4to.,  1608  ; 
Gethinge's  CaUigraplioteclinia,  a  writing-master's  copy 


424  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

book,  published  in  1616,  in  which  are  found  elaborate 
specimens  of  the  court  hand  of  the  time,  the  chan 
cery  hand,  Olivia's  "  sweet  Roman  hand,"  and  others, 
Erasmus's  "  Praise  of  Folie,  Englished  by  Sir  Thom 
as  Chaloner,"  4to.,  1594;  Mercurialis  De  Arte  Gym- 
nmtica,  4to.,  Venice,  1573,  which  is  chiefly  valuable 
for  its  numerous  wood-cut  illustrations,  which  are 
well  drawn,  and  cut  in  the  boldest  style  of  ancient 
cross-hatching ;  Guevara's  "  Chronicle,  conteyning 
the  Liues  of  tenne  Emperours  of  Rome,"  4to.,  1577  ; 
his  Familiar  Epistles,  of  the  same  date,  and  his 
Golden  Epistles,  4to.,  1582 ;  Gosson's  Epheme- 
rides  of  Phialo,  12mo.,  1579;  a  very  full  collection 
of  editions,  from  the  first  down  of  the  much  over 
valued  letters  of  Junius;  Lyly's  Euphues,  and 
Euphues  and  his  England,  4to.,  1581.  Reisch's 
Margarita  Pliilosopliica,  in  the  rare  edition  of  1496  ; 
Montaigne's  "  Essayes"  (Florio's  translation),  folio, 
1603  ;  The  Navigations,  Peregrinations,  and  Voyages 
made  into  Turkie,  by  Nicholas  Nicholay,  <fec.,  4to., 
1585;  "Petrarke's  Physicke  against  Fortune,"  4to., 
1579  ;  Salmasius's  Defen&io  Hegia  pro  Oarolo  I., 
bound  with  Milton's  Pro  Populo  Anglicano  Defen- 
sio,  both  first  editions.  All  these  books  are  in 
remarkably  fine  condition ;  and  in  this  department 
are  many  others,  of  equal  and  perhaps  greater  inter 
est,  that  for  want  of  space  must  pass  unnoticed. 


ME.  WHITE'S  COLLECTION.    .  425 

In  the  department  of  Music,  the  collection,  though 
full,  does  not  present  much  that  demands  notice  here. 
There  is  an  imposing  array  of  the  instrumental  works 
of  Haydn,  Mozart,  and  Beethoven  in  score ;  and  the 
attention  of  the  student  of  old  music  would  probably 
be  attracted  by  copies  of  some  of  Lully's  works  in 
the  original  score,  Lawes's  "  Ayres  and  Dialogues," 
Purcell's  Orpheus  Britannicus,  and  Arteaga's  Hevo- 
luzioni  del}  Teatro  Musicale  Italiano,  in  3  vols.  8vo., 
1783-8,  which  has  escaped  from  the  library  of  some 
cardinal,  whose  arms  are  emblazoned  upon  its  green 
morocco  sides.  Fine  copies  of  the  works  of  Burney 
and  Hawkins  are  perhaps  deserving  of  mention. 

Among  the  Novels  and  Tales,  the  following  works 
are  especially  worthy  of  notice.  Three  fine,  richly 
bound  copies  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  one  of  which 
has  been  illustrated  by  about  one  hundred  engrav 
ings  from  the  designs  of  Stothard,  Smirk,  and 
Westall ;  Amadis  de  Gaule,  the  version  of  Nicholas 
de  Herberay,  folio,  1547—55 ;  Apuleius,  folio,  Vin- 
centise,  1488  ;  and  all  the  important  editions,  in  Span 
ish  and  English,  of  Don  Quixote,  beginning  with  the 
first,  published  in  4to.  at  Madrid,  in  1605.  This 
copy  of  this  rare  and  much  sought  volume  has  two 
pages  supplied  by  the  pen.  The  copy  of  the  edi 
tion  of  Cervantes's  great  burlesque,  published  por  la 

real  Academia,  4  vols.  4to.,  Madrid,  1780,  is  a  truly 
54 


426  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW  YORK. 

noble  book.  There  is  a  copy  of  the  Speculum  Sapi- 
entice,  gothic  letter,  no  date,  place,  or  name,  neither 
folios  nor  signatures,  and  plainly  the  edition  of  1473. 
Of  Rabelais  there  are  several  editions,  including 
that  of  Valence,  3  vols.  16mo.,  1547,  illustrated 
with  quaint  wood-cuts,  this  copy  of  which  has  the 
arms  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  upon  its  olive  morocco 
covers ;  the  Lyons  edition  of  1593,  exquisitely  bound 
by  Cape ;  and  Du  Chat's  edition,  illustrated  by 
Picart,  3  vols.  4to.,  bound  in  smooth  crimson  mo 
rocco,  by  Derome.  There  is  also  a  very  covetable 
copy  of  the  Abbotsford  edition  of  the  Waverley  Nov 
els.  It  is  an  early  subscriber's  copy,  which  has  been 
very  copiously  illustrated  by  its  present  possessor, 
with  engraved  portraits,  landscapes,  scenes,  and 
characters.  All  the  published  Waverley  "  Galleries" 
have  been  laid  under  contribution  to  enrich  this 
book,  the  originally  thin  volumes  of  which  teem 
proudly  with  their  spoils.  Many  of  the  portraits 
are  of  great  rarity,  some  for  instance  among  the 
numerous  prints  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots ;  and  all 
the  available  heads  in  a  4to.  India-proof  copy  of 
Lodge's  Portraits  have  been  inserted. 

Of  volumes  classed  by  their  possessor  under  the 
head  of  Painting  and  the  Arts  of  Design,  the  collec 
tion  has  but  a  few  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty. 
Among  them  there  are  noticeable :  a  proof  copy  of 


WHITE'S  COLLECTION.    ,  42 


"  crazy"  Blake's  Illustrations  to  Young's  Night 
Thoughts  ;  De  Bry's  TJieatrum  Vitce  Humanum, 
4to.,  1596  ;  Carter's  Specimens  of  Ancient  Sculp 
ture  and  Painting  ;  a  folio  of  fine  impressions  of 
Engravings  by  Albrecht  Durer,  to  illustrate  Heller's 
Das  Lieben  und  die  Werlce,  of  that  Painter.  A  col 
lection  of  the  tracts  and  larger  works  published  con 
cerning  the  bringing  of  the  Elgin  Marbles  from 
Greece,  and  the  purchase  of  them  by  the  British 
Nation.  Icones  Mortis  (Holbein's  "  Dance  of  Death"), 
Basle,  1554,  a  fine  copy  from  the  White  Knight's 
library  ;  also  a  somewhat  full  and  very  interesting 
collection  of  books  upon  this  famous  dance  ;  among 
which  a  copy  of  Langlois'  exhaustive  work  quaintly 
and  exquisitely  bound  by  Cape  in  black  morocco, 
decorated  with  skulls  and  cross-bones,  and  a  folio 
containing  fine  impressions  of  most  of  the  fantastic 
engravings  of  the  subject  by  the  German  "Little 
Masters,"  attract  attention.  Holbein  is  also  repre 
sented  by  a  superb  copy  in  folio  of  the  Portraits  of 
the  Court  of  Henry  VIII.,  all  the  impressions  of  which, 
with  three  exceptions,  are  proofs  on  "  Holbein  paper." 
There  are  also  Goethe's  Heineke  Fuchs,  with  proofs  on 
India  paper  of  Kaulbach's  illustrations  ;  of  Lodge's 
Portraits,  without  the  text,  large  paper,  India  proofs, 
bound  in  morocco  by  Mackenzie  ;  two  thick  folios, 
small  4to.,  filled  with  exquisite  small  engravings 


428  LIBEAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

illustrative  of  Kugler's  works  on  the  Schools  of 
Italy,  Germany,  Spain,  &c. ;  Ottley's  Inquiry  into  the 
early  History  of  Engraving,  and  his  Fac-similes  of 
Rare  and  Curious  Prints ;  a  collection  of  the  princi 
pal  books  of  Engravings  from  Antique  Gems ;  Raoul 
Rochette's  valuable  work  Peintures  Antiques  inedi- 
tS'Sy  in  4to.,  with  plates,  Imprimerie  Royale ;  Strutt's 
Biographical  Dictionary  of  Engravers,  with  special 
illustrations;  a  folio  of  proof  impressions  on  India 
paper  of  engravings  from  Turner's  Views  of  the 
Rivers  of  France,  original  editions ;  and  Vasari's  Vite 
dd  piu  excellenti  pittori,  &c.,  Florence,  1568.  And 
here  should  be  mentioned  a  very  large  portfolio 
filled  with  artist's  proofs,  proofs  before  the  letter, 
and  the  earliest  India  paper  impressions,  of  works 
of  nearly  all  the  great  engravers,  from  Marc  Anto 
nio  to  Toschi. 

Of  the  five  hundred  and  fifty  and  odd  volumes  of 
Poetry,  these  may  be  mentioned :  Harrington's  trans 
lation  of  the  Orlando  Furioso,  folio,  1591 ;  all  the 
poetical  productions  of  Aphra  Behn,  now  scarce, 
as  they  should  be ;  Charles  Lamb's  copy  of  Cleve 
land's  Poems,  with  a  manuscript  extract  from  Ful 
ler's  Worthies,  handsomely  rebound,  but  the  edges, 
which  have  been  touched  by  the  gentle  Elia's 
fingers,  left  uncut;  the  first  edition,  1757,  of  the 
"  Rowley"  Poems ;  Langle's  Gontes  du  gay  sgavoir, 


MK.  WHITE'S  COLLECTION.  429 

with  the  initial  letters  illuminated  in  gold  and  colors, 
bound  in  blue  morocco  with  Grollier  tooling  by 
Matthews;  Durfey's  Pills  to  Purge  Melancholy, 
with  the  sixth  volume ;  Donne's  Poems,  4to.,  1633, 
with  a  portrait  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Drury,  the  lady 
whose 

— "  pure  and  eloquent  blood 

Spoke  in  her  Cheekes,  and  so  distinctly  wrought, 
That  one  might  almost  say,  her  body  thought." 

She  lies  upon  a  bed  in  a  brocade  gown,  and  the  for 
midable  ruff  and  cap  of  the  period. — Drayton's  Po 
ems  in  the  editions  of  1610,  1619,  and  1617  ;  Dan 
iel's  "  First  Fower  Bookes  of  the  Civil  Warres ;"  the 
first  edition,  4to.,  1595,  which  is  extremely  scarce. 
There  is  a  second  edition  of  the  same  date,  which  is 
more  common.  The  first  differs  from  all  others  in 
important  particulars  throughout.  Bound  up  with 
this  are  copies  of  the  same  author's  "Tragedie  of 
Cleopatra,"  "  Complaint  of  Rosamond,"  "  Musophi- 
lus,"  and  Letter  from  Octavia  to  Marcus  Antonius. 
Dante's  Divina  Comedia,  with  Landino's  comment, 
a  fine  copy  of  the  rare  Venice  edition,  folio,  1491. 
" Edition  remarqudble"  says  Brunet,  "par  les  jolies 
gravures  en  bois  qui  la  decorent,  et  dont  plusieurs 
fac-similes  se  voient  dans  les  ^Edes  Altkorp"  The 
Vita  'Nuova  of  Dante,  in  the  Florence  edition  of 
1576;  Harrington's  Epigrams,  4to.,  1634;  Milton's 


430  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Paradise  Lost,  first  edition,  with  second  title,  1668, 
Paradise  Regained,  first  edition,  1671,  and  Minor 
Poems,  first  complete  edition,  16^3  ;  a  copy  of  Pick 
ering's  edition  of  Milton's  complete  works,  8  vols. 
8vo.,  1851,  most  beautifully  bound  in  light  olive- 
green  morocco,  by  Matthews ;  one  of  the  books 
which  won  the  gold  medal  for  the  binder  at  the 
Great  Exhibition  of  1853;  Petrarca  Le  Rime  .  .  .  . 
di  belle-ssime  figure  ornato,  Venice,  1565,  in  orange- 
morocco  by  Wright ;  and  a  complete  set  of  Ritson's 
Poetical  Collections.  There  are  exquisitely  bound 
copies  of  Rogers's  Poems,  and  Italy,  with  proof  im 
pressions  of  the  illustrations  by  Turner  and  Stothard, 
and  also  a  proof  copy  most  daintily  clothed  of  the 
Book  of  Gems,  3  vols.  8vo.,  from  Lady  Bury's  library. 
Finally,  the  first  complete  edition  of  Spenser's  Faerie 
Queen,  folio,  1609  ;  and  Waller's  Poems,  first  edition, 
1635,  also  the  4to.  edition  of  1Y29,  specially  illus 
trated  with  portraits.  The  number  of  scarce  reprints 
of  rare  early  editions  of  English  poets  is  quite  large. 
In  the  Shakespearian  department,  completeness, 
from  the  first  modern  edition  of  the  plays — Rowe's, 
in  1Y09 — and  the  first  criticism  published  upon  them 
—by  Francis  Meres,  in  1598 — has  been  sought. 
But  although  it  numbers  over  six  hundred  volumes, 
and  is  strictly  limited  to  editions  of  Shakespeare 
containing  a  special  revision  of  the  text,  and  works 


MR.  WHITE'S  COLLECTION.  431 

professedly  written  upon  Shakespeare,  many  are 
still  lacking  to  perfect  it.  Indeed,  it  is  so  much  sur 
passed  by  another  collection  of  the  same  kind  (Mr. 
Barton's),  fully  described  in  this  work,  that  special 
mention  of  its  contents  may  be  properly  omitted, 
though  it  is  not  without  rarities  on  large  paper,  on 
thick  paper,  privately  printed  volumes,  &c.,  <fec. 
But  it  is  worth  while  to  mention  Chalmers's  own 
copies  of  the  "  Apology"  and  "  Supplementary  Apol 
ogy,"  with  his  manuscript  marginal  notes  ;  Hazle- 
wood's  copy  of  the  same  author's  pamphlet  upon  the 
Tempest,  of  which  only  forty  copies  were  printed  for 
private  circulation ;  Malone's  Tract  upon  the  same 
play,  eighty  copies  of  which  were  privately  printed, 

—a  presentation  copy  to  Dibdin,  and  again  from 
Dibdin  to  Hazlewood,  having  besides,  a  manuscript 
note  by  the  author ;  Gilchrist's  Essay  upon  Ben 
Jonson's  alleged  enmity  to  Shakespeare,  a  presenta 
tion  copy  to  Dibdin ;  a  copy  of  Dyce's  Shakespeare, 
in  which  three  interesting  letters  from  the  editor, 
which  touch  upon  the  progress  and  history  of  the 
work,  have  been  inserted ;  and  an  illustrated  Shake 
speare,  formed  by  uniting  the  Pictorial,  the  Illustrated 
(Kenny  Meadows),  and  Routledge's  (John  Gilbert) 

—the  three  impressions  of  each  play  being  brought 
together,  and  hundreds  of  engravings  of  all  periods 
and  styles  having  been  added.  The  illustrations 


432  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

have  been  selected  for  tlieir  beauty  and  interest,  not 
collected  indiscriminately ;  only  a  print  or  two  having 
been  sometimes  taken  from  a  set.  They  include  a 
complete  set  of  the  illustrations  to  Rowe's  edition, 
1709,  which  show  the  costume,  and  in  some  instances 
the  action,  with  which  these  plays  were  presented  at 
that  period.  This  book,  like  the  illustrated  Waver- 
ley,  is  yet  unbound.  It  is  in  place  to  mention  here 
a  set  of  the  privately  printed  fac-similes  of  eighteen 
passages  in  Mr.  Collier's  folio  Shakespeare  of  1632, 
and  a  set  of  the  ten  fac-similes,  also  privately  printed 
by  Mr.  Collier,  of  certain  of  the  Bridgewater  and 
Dulwich  College  MSS.,  to  which  the  existing  discus- 

O  o 

sion  as  to  the  authenticity  of  their  originals  lends  a 
special  interest.  These  are  a  gift  from  the  late  Earl 
of  Ellesmere. 

There  are  a  number  of  books  collected  by  Mr. 
White,  merely  as  specimens  of  beautiful  typogra 
phy.  The  use  which  he  has  made  of  them  is 
shown  in  his  edition  of  Shakespeare,  every  letter 
of  which  was  submitted  to  his  approval,  and  which 
was  printed  in  the  most  minute  particulars  under  his 
special  direction.  In  typography,  form,  and  even 
binding,  all  of  which  were  peculiar  to  it  when  it 
appeared,  it  has  had  several  more  or  less  successful 
imitators. 


REV.  DR.  WILLIAMS'S  LIBRARY. 


DK.  WILLIAMS'S  library,  which  is  scattered  through 
several  rooms' of  his  dwelling  in  Grove-street,  con 
tains  nine  thousand  volumes,  mainly  devoted  to 
Theology,  Biblical  Criticism,  Ecclesiastical  History, 
Religious  Poetry,  and  subjects  of  a  kindred  character. 
The  department  of  Political  Economy  is  confined  to 
that  portion  of  the  subject  which  associates  itself 
with  Christianity,  and  contains  the  writings  of  Louis 
Blanc,  Prudhon,  and  their  associates,  who  sought, 
upon  the  recent  overthrow  of  the  monarchy  in  France, 
to  rear  a  form  of  government  whose  basis  should 
rest  on  this  foundation,  with  what  sincerity  of  pur 
pose  their  brief  existence  has  deprived  the  world 
of  the  means  of  ascertaining. 

There  is  a  fair  collection  of  works  on  General  His 
tory,  although  Ecclesiastical  History,  and  more  par 
ticularly  that  portion  which  relates  to  the  Calvinistic 
sects,  is  greatly  in  the  ascendant.  Among  these  is  a 
scarce  work  in  folio,  mainly  devoted  to  the  Mennonite 
martyrs  in  Holland,  but  also  containing  an  account 
55 


434  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

of  earlier  Church  history,  written  in  the  Dutch  dia 
lect  by  Van  Braght,  and  illustrated  by  numerous 
etchings  executed  by  John  Luyken,  an  artist  of  much 
celebrity  in  his  day.  This  copy  is  the  second  edition, 
and  was  published  in  1685  ;  also,  the  works  of  Simon 
Menno,  written  in  the  same  language ;  a  very  rare 
folio,  called  the  Wonder  Book,  written  by  David 
Joris,  containing  a  vast  amount  of  unintelligible 
mysticism,  which  passed  for  the  religious  belief  of 
the  sect  he  founded,  which  was  an  offshoot  from  the 
Anabaptists,  who  always  spoke  of  the  author  with 
unmeasured  severity.  It  was  alleged  that  the  sect 
founded  by  him  was  immoral  in  tendency,  and  licen 
tious  in  character.  Be  this  as  it  may,  Joris,  or  George, 
excited  against  himself  such  an  outburst  of  popular 
indignation  that  he  was  forced  to  fly  to  save  his  life. 
He  took  refuge  at  Basle,  in  Switzerland,  where  he 
passed,  under  an  assumed  name,  as  a  merchant,  and 
having  some  means  was  enabled  to  command  respect. 
After  his  decease,  which  took  place  five  years  after 
his  flight,  his  true  character  was  discovered,  and  the 
enraged  populace  tore  his  dead  body  from  the  tomb, 
and  caused  it  to  be  burned. 

The  Wonder  Book  was  printed  in  1551,  without 
name  of  printer  or  place  of  publication,  as  a  knowl 
edge  of  a  connection  with  it  would  have  involved 
those  concerned  in  immediate  destruction.  This 


EEV.    DE.    WILLIAMS'S    COLLECTION.  435 

author  has  attracted  much  attention,  and  caused 
considerable  discussion,  as  to  his  true  character. 
His  son-in-law,  Blesdyck,  who  wrote  his  life,  and 
Revius,  who  edited  and  published  it  in  1642,  clothe 
him  with  the  attributes  of  an  angel,  while  his  ene 
mies  bestowed  upon  him  all  the  characteristics  of  a 
demon.  Among  those  distinguished  for  their  learn 
ing  who  have  taken  part  in  this  discussion,  are 
Schroeckh,  Venema,  Trechsel,  Medner,  and  Goebel, 
the  latter  of  whom  is  still  living.  The  collection  has 
also  the  recent  life  of  David  Joris,  by  Cramer,  a 
Mennonite  pastor  at  Middleburgh  in  Holland ;  and 
the  same  author's  life  of  Simon  Menno. 

Among  the  notable  books  in  this  department,  are 
the  annals  of  the  Anabaptists,  published  at  Basle 
in  1672,  by  Ottius — a  rare  and  valuable  work — and 
a  collection  of  documents  relating  to  the  early  history 
of  the  diocese  of  Munster,  collected  by  Cornelius,  an 
able  Catholic  divine,  and  others,  probably  the  only 
copy  in  the  United  States.  Cornelius  is  now  en 
gaged  in  writing  a  history  founded  on  these  docu 
ments,  of  which  the  first  volume  appeared  in  1856, 
and  has  a  place  in  the  Williams  collection. 

There  is  also  a  history  of  the  troubles  in  Munster, 
by  Kerschenbroeck,  in  manuscript,  bearing  date  1677. 
This  work  was  never  printed.  Kerschenbroeck  was 
an  eye-witness  of  the  Munster  troubles,  and  wrote 


436  LIBKAEIES    OF    NEW    YOKK. 

this  work  in  1535,  from  which  manuscript  the 
present  copy  was  taken.  It  is  surmised  that  it  was 
not  published  because  the  descendants  of  many  of 
the  persons  who  took  an  active  part  were  still 
residents  of  Munster.  This  is  the  view  taken  by 
Cornelius. 

Another  MS.  is  one  referring  to  the  persecution 
of  the  Baptists  in  the  Canton  of  Berne,  Switzerland, 
at  the  close  of  the  XVIIth  century ;  to  the  interces 
sion,  fruitless,  however,  of  the  Holland  Mennonites 
and  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  in  their  behalf,  and  to 
the  subsequent  emigration  of  these  Swiss  exiles  to 
America  in  1710. 

The  collection  relating  to  the  History  of  the  an 
cient  Albigenses  and  Waldenses  is  a  fair  one,  and 
includes  the  works  of  Muston,  Monastier,  Hahn,  Herz- 
og,  Schmidt,  Gilly,  Brez  and  Allix.  Lydius  Wal- 
densia  is  a  rare  book,  relating  to  the  connection 
between  the  Waldenses  of  the  West  and  a  similar 
sect  in  Bohemia,  and  contains  the  confession  of  faith 
presented  by  them  to  the  King  of  Bohemia.  There 
is  also  a  rare  work  by  Claude  Cossard,  published  at 
Paris  in  1548,  against  this  sect. 

By  far  the  most  extensive  collection,  however,  is 
that  which  relates  to  the  celebrated  feud  between 
the  Jansenists  and  the  Jesuits,  and  embraces  the 
chief  works  upon  the  Jansenist  side  of  the  question. 


EEV.    DE.    WILLIAMS'S    COLLECTION. 


First  among  these  is  the  treatise  of  Jansenius,  styled 
his  "  Augustinius,"  in  folio.  This  is  not  so  much  a 
copy  of  the  writings  of  this  distinguished  father  and 
divine,  as  a  compend  in  Jansenius' s  own  words  of 
what  he  supposed  him  to  teach. 

It  is  related  of  Jansenius,  who  was  Professor  of 
Divinity  at  Louvain,  and  afterward  Bishop  of  Ypres, 
that  he  had  read  over  every  word  of  the  works  of 
St.  Augustine  ten  times,  and  studied  all  the  passages 
relating  to  the  Pelagian  controversy  thirty  times,  in 
order  to  prepare  himself  to  execute  his  "  Augustin 
ius,"  which  involved  the  labor  of  twenty  years, 
during  which  time  he  was  assisted  by  his  bosom 
friend  St.  Cyran.  He  had  hardly  completed  the  last 
line  of  this  work,  when  he  was  stricken  by  the 
plague,  and  died  in  a  short  time.  Within  an  hour 
of  his  death  he  made  a  will,  submitting  his  work  to 
the  judgment  of  the  Church  of  Koine,  in  the  com 
munion  of  which  he  had  lived  and  was  about  to  die. 
He  addressed  a  letter  to  Pope  Urban  VIII. ,  laying 
the  work  at  his  feet.  Both  the  will  and  letter  were 
suppressed,  but  in  two  years  after  it  appeared  in 
print.  The  views  it  inculcates  are  those  now  known 
as  Calvinistic.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a  religious 
war  which  raged  in  France  with  great  fury  for  nearly 
seventy  years,  during  which  the  bull  of  the  Pope 
condemned  the  work  of  Jansenius,  and  pronounced 


438  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

those  who  adhered  to  his  teachings  without  the  pale 
of  the  church. 

During  this  controversy,  which  for  the  whole 
period  of  seventy  years  "  agitated  the  Sorbonne  and 
Versailles,  fired  the  enthusiasm  of  the  ladies  and 
divines  of  France,"  and  ended  in  the  complete  de 
struction  of  Port  Royal,  an  immense  number  of  con 
troversial  works  were  written  upon  either  side. 
Among  those  on  the  side  of  Jansenism,  the  most 
prominent  are  Arnauld's  voluminous  writings,  num 
bering  one  hundred  different  works,  including  his 
celebrated  book  "  De  la  Frequente  Communion," 
Pascal's  Letters ;  Nicole's  Treatise  on  Christian  Mor 
als  ;  the  writings  of  Duguet  and  M.  de  St.  Marthe ; 
Reuchlin  ;  Beuve  ;  and  other  histories  of  Port  Royal, 
and  a  large  number  of  works  caused  by  the  Bull 
Unigenitus,  all  of  which  have  a  place  in  this  library. 

Another  of  the  rare  and  important  Jansenist  works 
is  the  Nouvelles  Ecdesiastiques,  making,  with  the 
indexes,  twenty  volumes  in  quarto.  It  was  a  pub 
lication  without  name  of  printer  or  bookseller, 
twice  each  week  in  the  long  interval  from  1723  to 
1782.  It  assailed  the  enemies  of  Jansenism,  and  the 
supposed  abuses  of  the  Jesuits ;  and  also  reviewed 
with  severity  the  infidel  writings  of  Voltaire  and  other 
Encyclopedists.  "  All  the  efforts  of  the  government," 
Charles  Butler  has  said,  "  were  exhausted  to  discover 


EEV.    DK.    WILLIAMS'S    COLLECTION.  439 

the  authors  and  supporters,  and  to  stop  the  publica 
tion  *  * ;  but  the  attempt  was  fruitless,  and  seems 
to  prove  that  Jansenism  had  a  multitude  of  secret 
friends  and  abettors."  Its  authors  are  now  known 
to  have  been  MM.  Boucher,  Berger,  De  la  Roche, 
Troyes,  Guidy,  Rondet,  Larriere,  and  St.  Mars.  The 
volume  from  1723  to  1728  found  here,  is  wanting 
in  most  collections.  The  work  was  discontinued 
on  the  outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution. 

There  are  many  works  on  the  other  side  of  this 
controversy,  although  far  inferior  in  numbers  to 
those  favoring  Jansenism.  Among  these  is  a  very 
remarkable  one  by  Father  Daniel,  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus,  in  reply  to  Pascal's  provincial  letters, 
written  with  such  force  and  elegance  as  to  win  for 
its  author  a  distinguished  reputation  among  men  of 
letters.  This  work  is  conceded  to  be  the  ablest 
reply  ever  made  to  these  celebrated  letters.  There 
is  likewise  an  able  work  by  Vinet ;  the  Abbe  May- 
nard's  work  against  Pascal ;  and  another  by  Lelut, 
physician  to  the  insane  Hospital  at  Salpetriere,  both 
of  recent  date,  in  opposition  to  Pascal's  writings,  the 
latter  of  which  is  intended  to  show  that  Pascal  was 
laboring  under  a  mental  hallucination  at  the  time 
he  wrote. 

The  Imago  Primi  Seculi,  or  history  of  the  Jesuits 
for  the  first  century  of  their  existence,  is  so  rare  at 


440  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

the  present  moment,  as  seldom  to  be  purchasable  at 
any  price.  The  copy  in  this  collection,  which  is  in 
excellent  preservation,  bears  evidence  of  once  having 
belonged  to  the  Monasterii  Ettalensis.  The  elder 
DTsraeli,  in  commenting  upon  this  volume,  says  that 
it  is  "  a  most  splendid  work,  embellished  with  most 
exquisite  engravings,  magnificent  as  the  genius  of 
the  order,  whose  pride  and  vanity  composed  the  pre 
vious  monuments  of  the  Jesuits." 

There  is  a  life  of  Joseph  Anchieta,  an  early  Cath 
olic  missionary  to  Brazil,  by  Baretario,  which  is  espe 
cially  remarkable  on  account  of  the  miracles  it  nar 
rates.  Father  Anchieta  is  represented  by  all  parties 
as  possessed  of  great  sanctity,  much  learning,  and 
remarkable  and  well-directed  zeal.  Southey,  in  his 
History  of  Brazil,  which  seems  to  be  less  noticed  of 
late  than  it  deserves,  frequently  alludes  to  Anchieta. 
His  biographer,  not  satisfied  with  endowing  him 
with  the  characteristics  of  a  great  and  good  man, 
who  performed  an  important  duty  in  life  with  such 
exactness  and  liberality  as  to  win  for  him  the  com 
mendations  of  friends  and  enemies,  has  sought  to 
invest  his  life  with  a  character  more  than  mortal, 
and  narrates  events  which  even  the  most  steadfast 
believer  might  hesitate  to  admit. 

Among  these,  he  narrates  that  upon  one  occasion, 
while  Anchieta,  in  company  with  several  others,  was 


REV.    DR.    WILLIAMS'S    COLLECTION.  441 

journeying  beneath  the  intense  rays  of  a  midsummer 
sun,  finding  it  so  oppressive  as  well  nigh  to  cause 
him  to  faint,  he  commanded  the  birds  of  the  air  to 
shield  him  from  its  rays,  and  immediately  a  large 
flock  hovered  in  the  air  above,  and  overspread  their 
wings  so  as  entirely  to  shield  him  and  his  compan 
ions  from  its  influence,  and  enable  them  to  prosecute 
their  journey  with  tolerable  comfort.  Upon  another 
occasion,  while  travelling  with  a  number  of  others, 
the  party  were  overtaken  by  one  of  those  violent 
showers  so  common  in  Brazil,  and  were  thoroughly 
drenched.  Their  surprise  was  great  to  find  that 
while  all  the  rest  were  wetted  to  the  skin,  Anchi- 
eta's  clothing  was  as  dry  as  if  the  rain  had  not  fallen. 
Upon  remarking  this  to  him,  he  jocosely  said  that 
his  clothing  was  so  much  better  than  theirs  as  to 
exclude  the  rain,  when  in  fact  his  suit  was  so  much 
the  poorest  of  the  party  as  to  be  rent  here  and  there, 
and  contained  many  holes. 

A  well  written  history  of  the  Jesuits,  by  Lucius, 
which  derives  an  additional  value  from  the  fact  that 
it  was  once  in  the  possession  of  the  poet  Southey, 
and  contains  his  autograph.  A  very  interesting 
series  of  letters  by  Maifeius,  on  the  Japanese  missions, 
which  once  belonged  to  a  Spanish  convent.  The 
author  of  these  letters,  who  also  wrote  a  history  of 

India,  and  several  other  works,  was  considered  in  his 
56 


442  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

day  as  a  writer  of  much  merit,  and  is  relied  upon  as 
good  authority  for  whatever  he  says.  Akin  to  this, 
is  one  on  the  Christian  Triumphs  in  Japan,  by  Tri- 
gantius,  which  belonged  to  Cardinal  Tornenus, 
Bishop  of  Bamberg,  and  was  left  by  his  will  to  the 
Jesuit  College  at  Bamberg.  There  is  likewise  in 
the  collection  a  life  of  St.  Ignatius  of  Loyola,  by 
Bartoli,  which  also  belonged  to  the  college  at  Bam 
berg.  A  Japanese  church  history  in  folio,  published 
in  Augsburg  in  1738,  which  was  owned  by  the  mon 
astery  at  Bamberg,  and  the  work  of  Suarez,  the  great 
Jesuit  theologian,  on  Divine  Grace,  printed  in  1620, 
from  the  shelves  of  the  library  of  the  monastery  at 
Banthem. 

It  is  not  known  how  these  religious  institutions 
became  dispossessed  of  the  volumes  above  cited,  and 
a  vast  number  of  others,  now  found  in  public  and 
private  collections.  Besides  the  dispersion  of  the 
great  libraries  of  the  Jesuits  at  Bamberg  and  else 
where,  on  the  suppression  of  the  order,  it  is  sup 
posed  that  when,  during  the  marches  of  the  armies 
of  Bonaparte  through  Germany,  they  were  quartered 
at  the  various  religious  houses  on  their  way,  the 
soldiers  made  free  use  not  only  of  the  larders  of 
these  venerable  establishments,  but  also  of  their 
libraries,  and  despoiled  them  of  many  a  goodly 
treasure,  whose  intrinsic  value  thev  were  unable  to 


KEY.    DR.    WILLIAMS'S    COLLECTIOX.  443 

comprehend,  and  which  they  doubtless  parted  with 
for  a  small  pittance. 

There  is  in  the  collection  a  Life  of  Francis  Borgia, 
one  of  the  early  Generals  of  the  Jesuit  order,  cousin 
to  the  notorious  Caesar  Borgia,  by  Ribadeneira,  pub 
lished  at  Rome,  in  1596.  This  work  is  not  only  a 
rare  book,  but  one  of  great  interest.  The  subject  of 
the  memoir  was  a  distinguished  Spanish  nobleman, 
of  exalted  talents  and  exemplary  character.  The 
duties  of  his  station  made  it  incumbent  upon  him  to 
attend  the  remains  of  the  deceased  queen  while 
exposed  in  state ;  in  the  fulfilment  of  which  duty  he 
became  so  deeply  impressed  by  the  distorted  features 
of  the  deceased  that  he  resolved  to  relinquish  the 
gay  court  and  its  festivities,  and  devote  himself  en 
tirely  to  religious  contemplation,  under  the  garb  of 
an  ecclesiastic,  In  this  capacity  his  life  was  so  ex 
emplary  as  to  furnish  an  exalted  model  for  the 
admiration  and  imitation  of  other  religious. 

Also,  an  excellent  life  of  Cardinal  Bellarmine,  by 
Fuligatti,  published  in  1625  ;  a  History  of  the  India 
Missions,  by  Grinchovius ;  a  copy  of  the  canons  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus ;  a  Defence  of  the  Jesuit  Mis 
sions  in  China,  from  the  library  of  the  Earl  of  Guil- 
ford,  Governor  of  the  Ionian  Islands;  and  Maim- 
bourg's  History  of  Calvinism,  published  in  1682, 
from  the  collection  of  the  late  Dr.  Jarvis,  which  had 


444  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

a  distinguished  reputation  for  rare  ecclesiastical 
works,  and  was  finally  disposed  of  at  auction  for 
a  considerable  price. 

The  library  contains  the  works  of  St.  Chrysostom, 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  St.  Anselm,  St.  Cyril,  St.  Ber 
nard,  St.  Irenseus,  St.  Tertullian,  St.  Cyprian,  St. 
Athanasius,  and  others. 

There  is  likewise  a  respectable  collection  of  re 
ligious  poetry;  a  curious  collection  of  works  on 
emblems ;  a  rare  one  on  proverbs,  including  those  of 
the  Dutch,  German,  Spanish,  French,  some  Asiatic 
and  African;  and  many  valuable  works  on  Welsh 
history  and  antiquities. 

Among  the  rarities  of  the  Library  is  a  History  of 
Utrecht,  Historia  Ultrajectina,  by  Beka  and  Heda, 
published  in  that  city  in  1643.  It  was  in  the  library 
of  Cardinal  Marefuschi,  who  bought  it,  as  seems 
from  a  note  apparently  in  his  handwriting,  at  the 
sale  of  the  library  of  Cardinal  Ottoboni,  and  which 
same  note  goes  on  to  state  that  it  had  before  that 
time  been  in  the  library  of  Christina,  Queen  of 
Sweden,  who,  on  renouncing  Protestantism,  settled 
in  Rome.  It  has  very  numerous  manuscript  annota 
tions,  which  this  same  entry  (probably  of  Cardinal 
Marefuschi,  whose  book-plate  it  also  has)  declares  to 
be  by  the  great  Hugo  Grotius.  One  of  the  manu 
script  annotations  states  that  the  writer  of  them 


REV.    DK.    WILLIAMS  8    COLLECTION.  445 

read  Beka  and  Heda's  work  at  Paris  in  1644.  Now 
Grotius  was  the  Ambassador  of  Christina  in  that 
city  at  that  time. 

Other  volumes  of  interest  are  a  folio  MS.,  contain 
ing  the  Latin  Gospels  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  with  a 
Commentary,  probably  of  the  fourteenth  century; 
and  another  folio  one  of  the  specimens  of  early  print 
ing  ;  St.  Augustine's  De  Civitate  Dei,  with  the  old 
Commentaries  of  Valois  and  Trivet,  printed  about 
14YO ;  a  copy  of  Bishop  Fell's  Life  of  Hammond, 
that  had  belonged  to  Charles  Wesley  whilst  a  stu 
dent,  and  whose  autograph  it  contains ;  a  copy  of 
Sherlock  on  Providence,  that  had  once  been  owned 
by  the  eminent  merchant  John  Thornton,  and  passed 
from  him  to  William  Wilberforce ;  and  another  book 
with  the  autograph  of  Doddridge. 

The  strength  of  the  collection  is  in  its  Jansenist 
works,  but  it  has  besides  an  excellent  collection  of 
Puritan  authors,  and  works  on  the  Mennonite,  the 
Anabaptist,  and  the  modern  Baptist  history.  As  a 
whole,  it  is  supplied  with  more  ample  materials  for 
writing  a  history  of  the  Baptist  church  from  its 
origin  to  the  present  time,  than  any  other  collection, 
either  public  or  private,  in  the  United  States. 
Many  of  its  most  valuable  works  have  evidently 
been  collected  with  that  view,  but  whether  its  pos 
sessor,  whose  ability  for  such  a  work  is  universally 


446  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

recognized,  will  ever  commence  its  preparation,  it  is 
impossible  to  determine.  Should  he  fail  to  do  so, 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  numerous  religious  sect 
will  not  permit  a  library,  in  whose  preservation  they 
possess  so  deep  an  interest,  to  be  dispersed,  and  thus 
placed  beyond  the  reach  of  some  future  historian, 
who  with  less  arduous  pastoral  duties,  and  a  greater 
share  of  physical  health,  and  perhaps  of  ambition, 
than  Dr.  Williams,  may  be  willing  to  devote  the 
best  years  of  his  life  to  such  a  praiseworthy  task. 


MISCELLANEOUS  COLLECTIONS. 


IN  addition  to  the  libraries  embraced  in  the  pre 
ceding  pages,  there  are  a  large  number  of  very  ex 
cellent  collections,  varying  in  extent  from  one  to 
several  thousand  volumes,  some  of  which  are  devoted 
to  specialties,  and  many  are  just  objects  of  pride  as 
well  as  sources  of  pleasure  to  their  possessors. 

Among  these  may  be  mentioned  that  of  William 
B.  Astor,  which  numbers  five  thousand  volumes, 
and  contains  most  of  the  standard  works  which  a 
well-informed  gentleman  requires  for  ordinary  con 
sultation.  The  munificent  donation  of  this  gentle 
man  to  the  splendid  foundation  made  by  his  father, 
of  the  Astor  library,  will,  in  time,  render  this  public 
library  the  most  extensive,  as  well  as  the  most 
useful,  in  America. 

The  library  of  J.  "W.  Ashmead,  which  likewise 
contains  about  five  thousand  volumes,  is  chiefly 
devoted  to  Jurisprudence,  in  which  department  it 
possesses  a  valuable  series  of  works,  selected  with 
great  care  during  a  long  and  somewhat  arduous  pro 
fessional  career. 


448  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

J.  R.  Brodhead's  collection,  which  numbers  be 
tween  three  and  four  thousand  volumes,  is  particu 
larly  rich  in  works  relating  to  the  early  history  and 
settlement  of  the  state  of  New  York.  That  of  Mr. 
Bushnell,  which  likewise  numbers  over  three  thousand 
volumes,  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  its  rich  collection 
of  numismatical  works,  that  of  William  P.  Chapman, 
which  contains  nearly  ten  thousand  volumes,  for  its 
works  on  the  Drama  and  Poetry,  and  that  of  F.  W. 
Cozzens  for  its  treatises  on  Wines,  and  its  complete 
collection  of  works  relating  to  the  War  in  Columbia, 
South  America.  The  exploits  of  Bolivar  and  his 
living  contemporary,  General  Paez,  who  wrested 
from  the  Spanish  yoke  a  country  nearly  as  large  as 
the  United  States,  are  written  in  a  very  few  vol 
umes  of  the  period,  and  chiefly  by  English  adven 
turers.  Of  the  native  writers  there  are  Zea's  Colum 
bia,  2  vols.  4to.,  1822 ;  the  letters  of  Don  Vincente 
Pazos  to  Henry  Clay,  1819;  and  Doc.  Hist,  and 
Explanatory,  by  J.  M.  Antepora,  1810.  In  addition 
to  these  may  be  added,  as  relative  to  this  subject,  the 
voyages  of  Don  George  and  Don  Antonia  de  Ulloa, 
2  vols.,  1806  ;  a  Voyage  to  the  Spanish  Main,  by  F. 
Depore,  3  vols.,  1806;  Brown's  Narrative,  1819; 
Dumis's  Guatemala,  1826;  Rocca's  French  War  in 
Spain,  1823  ;  Duane's  Colombia,  1826  ;  Recollections 
by  an  officer  of  the  Colombia  Navy,  1828  ;  Notes  on 


MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS.  449 

Colombia  by  an  officer  of  the  United  States  army, 
1827  ;  Semple's  Caraccas,  1812  ;  Memoirs  of  Boli 
var,  1829,  and  a  few  other  authorities  of  less  note, 
in  maps,  letters,  and  pamphlets. 

The  collection  of  Alexander  J.  Davis,  archi 
tect,  is  largely  devoted  to  the  Fine  Arts,  chiefly  in 
the  departments  of  Architecture,  Sculpture,  and  En 
graving,  in  which  are  many  rare  and  costly  works. 
These  include  the  Gallery  of  Antiquities  in  the  Brit 
ish  Museum ;  Bowyer's  Illustrations  of  English  His 
tory,  containing  Bartolozzi  and  Landseer's  designs ; 
Wild,  Britton,  and  Storer's  British  Cathedrals,  in  the 
last  of  which  are  many  engravings,  of  admirable 
artistic  proportions,  not  to  be  found  elsewhere  ;  also 
the  collection  published  by  the  Dilettanti  Society ; 
and  the  Architectural  works  of  Vitruvius  and  Pira- 
nesi.  There  are  likewise  a  number  of  portfolios  of 
fine  prints ;  books  of  portraits  of  old  masters ;  and 
an  extensive  collection  of  Historical  and  Landscape 
engravings  of  great  beauty  of  design  and  finish. 
There  is  an  excellent  collection  of  works  on  Nat 
ural  History,  among  which  is  a  set  of  the  transac 
tions  of  the  Horticultural  Society  of  London,  which 
is  very  handsomely  executed  and  not  often  met  with. 

W.  Butler  Duncan  has  a  collection  of  about  three 
thousand  volumes,  composed  chiefly  of  old  standard 

English  writers. 

57 


450  LIBKAKIES    OF    NEW    YOEK. 

In  Charles  W.  Frederickson's  collection  are  to  be 
found  Lamb's  copy  of  Chaucer,  black  letter ;  Lamb's 
copy  of  Drayton,  folio,  containing  a  dozen  pages  of 
MS.  notes  in  Lamb's  handwriting ;  and  Byron's  copy 
of  Peter  Pindar,  containing  his  autograph,  dated 
Newstead  Abbey,  1811,  with  an  unpublished  poem, 
in  the  poet's  handwriting.  This  collection  is  mostly 
valuable  for  its  works  on  the  Drama  and  Bibli 
ography.  It  also  contains  a  large  collection  of  Chis- 
wick  editions. 

James  L.  Graham,  Jr.,  has  a  collection  of  five  thou 
sand  volumes,  which  is  rich  in  English  poetry  (early 
editions),  and  contains  some  rare  and  curious  works 
from  private  printing-presses,  as  well  as  many  books 
from  the  libraries  of  celebrated  men — as  Walpole, 
Coleridge,  Roscoe,  Lamb,  Dawson,  Turner  and  oth 
ers,  together  with  a  large  collection  of  numismatic 
works.  It  has  a  collection  of  about  ten  thousand 
coins  and  medals,  and  a  series  of  decorations  of  the 
legion  of  honor  and  orders  of  military  merit.  There 
is  also  a  large  collection  of  autographs  and  original 
documents,  in  which  may  be  found  a  number  of 
unpublished  letters  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Rob 
ert  Fulton,  a  manuscript  of  Thomas  Moore,  and  let 
ters  from  eminent  men  of  the  XVIIIth  and  XlXth 
centuries,  in  all  numbering  about  2,000. 

Campbell  Morfit  has  a  small  but  well   selected 


MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS.  451 

library,   almost   exclusively   devoted  to  Chemistry, 
and  especially  Technological  Chemistry. 

J.  B.  Moreau  has  a  small  collection,  containing 
many  excellent  illustrated  works,  and  some  good 
authors  in  the  department  of  Belles-Lettres. 

A.  J.  Odell  has  a  collection  of  twenty-five  hundred 
volumes,  which  deserves  special  notice  on  account  of 
its  Bibliography.  This  department  is  represented 
by  upward  of  twelve  hundred  volumes,  including  a 
large  number  of  the  rarest  works  on  the  knowledge 
of  books  and  the  history  of  printing,  comprising 
treatises  in  Greek,  Latin,  English,  French,  Spanish, 
Portuguese,  Italian,  German  and  Dutch.  Among 
others,  Peignot  in  35  vols. — an  unusual  collection, 
inasmuch  as  the  impression  of  nearly  all  of  his 
works  was  limited  to  a  small  number.  The  set  of 
Dibdin  is  complete,  and  of  more  than  ordinary  beauty. 
There  is  a  fine  copy  of  Sotheby's  Principia  Typo- 
graphica  ;  and  the  bibliographical  labors  of  Sir 
Egerton  Brydges,  are  well  represented  by  twenty- 
five  volumes.  Some  of  the  latter  are  extremely 
scarce  in  this  country,  having  been  issued  to  the 
extent  of  only  seventy-five  copies,  privately  printed 
at  Geneva,  Rome,  and  the  Lee  Priory  press ;  also 
the  works  of  Panzer,  Clement,  Fabricius,  Jocher, 
Adelung,  Falkenstein,  Santander,  Orlandi,  Lowndes, 
Home,  Watt,  De  Bure,  Brunet,  Ebert,  Gesner,  and 


452  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

many  of  their  equally  laborious  and  interesting 
co-laborers,  the  whole  constituting  one  of  the  most 
extensive  assemblages  in  this  department,  ever  made 
by  a  private  collector  in  this  country.  Not  a  few  of 
these  works  are  on  large  paper,  while  the  privately 
printed  volumes  may  be  regarded  as  among  the 
rarities.  The  number  of  scarce  and  valuable  cata 
logues  is  a  noticeable  feature,  many  of  them  furnish 
ing  some  singular  illustrations  of  ancient  art. 

Besides  the  specialty  of  Literary  History  and  Bib 
liography,  this  library  contains  about  fifty  incunab 
ula,  or  "  fifteeners,"  some  of  them  of  great  rarity  even 
in  Europe,  and  much  less  frequently  met  with  here. 
Such  are  the  first  and  second  editions  of  Breyden- 
bach's  Peregrinationes  in  montem  Syon,  of  1486  and 
1490;  the  splendid  editio  princeps  of  Politian's  Mis 
cellanea,  1489 ;  the  small  folio  Problemata  Aristo- 
telis,  Rome,  1475  ;  the  exquisite  Hypnerotomacliia 
Polipliili,  printed  by  Aldus,  in  1499  ;  several  of 
Cicero's  works,  by  Bazalerius  in  1498-9,  <fec.  The 
latter  derive  not  a  little  interest  from  the  profuse 
autograph  annotations  of  Philip  Melancthon,  to 
whom  it  formerly  belonged.  At  the  close  of  Liber 
I.,  De  Divinatione,  a  subsequent  reader  has  made 
this  curious  entry  :  "Die  19  Januarii,  1564,  adfinem 
libri  liujus  preventum,  tumultuaria  lectione"  There 
is  a  beautiful  copy  of  Virgil,  printed  by  Robert 


MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS.  453 

Stephens  at  Paris,  in  1532,  with  types  cut  for  that 
purpose,  which  also  was  owned  by  Melancthon,  and 
bears  on  its  margins  numerous  observations  in  the 
neat  chirography  of  "  that  bundle  of  distinctions," 
as  Eckius  termed  him.  The  presses  of  such  printers 
as  Zell,  Coburger,  Koelhoff,  John  of  Westphalia, 
Aldus,  the  Giunti,  Oporinus,  Froben,  Plantin,  the  Ste- 
phenses,  the  Elzevirs,  and  others  of  equal  celebrity, 
have  furnished  some  beautiful  specimens  of  typog 
raphy,  which  have  not  been  overlooked  in  the  selec 
tions  of  early  editions. 

In  addition  to  these  are  numerous  curious  reprints ; 
volumes  on  colored  paper ;  several  printed  with  col 
ored  inks ;  a  number  of  manuscripts  in  Latin,  French, 
Flemish,  and  Arabic,  <fec.,  including  a  very  peculiar 
folding  series  of  East  Indian  paintings,  representing 
a  strife  between  a  good  and  a  bad  genius,  with  in 
scriptions  in  characters  different  from  those  of  any 
language  of  which  the  alphabet  is  known.  Among 
the  curiosities  may  be  mentioned  an  original  imprint 
of  the  bull  of  Pope  Leo  X.,  "Contra  Errores  Mar 
tini  Lutlieri  et  seqiiacium"  issued  in  151Y,  to  which 
is  affixed  the  papal  seal,  attested  by  the  autograph 
signature  of  the  papal  nuncio ;  a  printed  declaration 
of  war  by  the  king  of  Norway,  with  the  state  seal, 
and  signed  by  the  minister  of  state,  in  1523  ;  another 
declaration  of  war  by  the  king  of  Denmark,  with  the 


454  LIBK ARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

state  seal,  also  of  1523;  a  couple  of  German  news 
papers  (Newe  Zeytung),  containing  news  from  Home, 
Naples,  the  Netherlands,  Vienna  and  elsewhere ;  one 
printed  at  Nuremberg  in  1510,  the  other  at  Newen- 
stadt  in  1523. 

Dr.  Purple's  collection,  which  contains  about  five 
thousand  volumes,  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  its  com 
plete  series  of  medical  periodical  literature,  from  its 
commencement  in  America  to  the  present  time. 

Dr.  Martyn  Paine  has  a  collection  of  about  five 
thousand  volumes,  principally  devoted  to  medicine. 

Anson  Gr.  Phelps,  Jr.,  left  a  small  but  well 
selected  library  of  near  two  thousand  volumes,  col 
lected  for  the  most  part  before  he  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age.  His  sudden  decease  alone  prevented 
his  expanding  this  into  one  of  noble  proportions. 

John  Austin  Stevens,  Jr.,  has  a  collection  of  about 
four  thousand  volumes,  which  is  particularly  rich  in 
the  literature  of  the  middle  ages,  and  especially 
the  romances  of  that  period,  many  of  the  more 
remarkable  of  which  are  to  be  found  in  various,  and, 
where  possible,  in  the  earliest  editions. 

Benj.  M.  Stil well's  library,  which  numbers  upward 
of  eight  thousand  volumes,  is  for  the  most  part  in 
the  English  language,  and  embraces  an  extensive 
collection  of  the  best  authors  in  Church  History, 
systems  of  Philosophy,  General  History,  Universal 


MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS.  455 

History,  including  those  of  the  Greek,  Roman,  the 
Byzantine  historians,  and  all  the  modern  nations, 
including  those  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  the 
separate  states,  Literary  history,  Biography,  Bibliog 
raphy,  Poetry,  the  Drama,  English  Classics,  works 
of  Travels,  Antiquities,  the  Government  publications, 
and  illustrated  works.  The  library  is  enriched  by 
the  entire  collection  of  works  on  political  economy, 
from  the  library  of  the  late  Chancellor  Sanford.  It 
contains  a  number  of  manuscripts,  and  among  others 
Opera  Alchymistica  et  Pliilosophica,  of  Raymond 
Lully,  from  the  library  of  Adam  Clarke. 

Samuel  J.  Tilden's  collection  contains  about  four 
thousand  volumes,  and  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  its 
Cromwelliana,  which  embraces  many  valuable  works 
of  this  era,  some  of  which  are  unique. 

John  Van  Buren  has  a  collection  of  about  three 
thousand  volumes,  chiefly  devoted  to  Jurisprudence. 
The  foundation  of  this  library  was  made  by  the  late 
George  Cane,  reporter  of  some  of  the  early  decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court  and  Court  of  Errors  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  It  was  purchased  from  him  by 
Martin  Van  Buren,  the  late  President,  from  whom  it 
passed  to  his  son,  its  present  possessor.  It  is  abun 
dantly  supplied  with  the  early  English  Reports,  and 
ancient  elementary  treatises,  and  in  this  respect  is 
probably  without  a  superior.  These  reports  embrace 


456  LIBRARIES    OF    NEW    YORK. 

most  of  the  important  ones  from  the  state  trials,  in 
the  reign  of  Richard  II.,  to  Ambler  and  Vesey — a 
period  remarkable  in  English  history.  Prominent 
among  the  old  reports,  are  those  of  Jenkins,  the 
Year  Books,  and  the  Reports  of  Moore,  Leonard, 
Plowden,  Croke,  Yelverton,  Hobart,  Rolle,  Stiles, 
Sir  Thomas  Raymond,  Saunders,  Freeman  Showers, 
Lord  Raymond,  Strange,  Fitzgibbon,  Leach,  Black- 
stone,  Salkeld,  Dickens,  Vernon,  Peere  Williams, 
Gilbert,  and  others. 

.  Among  the  elementary  treatises  are  Bracton's 
Commentaries,  folio,  London,  1569  ;  Coke's  Corpus 
Juris  Givilis,  2  vols.  4to. ;  Harris's  Justiniani  In- 
stitutionum ;  Voet's  Oommentarius  ad  Pandectas, 
folio,  Hague,  1716;  Selden's  Fleta,  London,  1685; 
Domat's  Civil  Law ;  Hugo  Grotius's  Rights  of  War 
and  Peace;  Fortesque's  De  Laudibus  Legum  An- 
glice,  folio;  Swinburne's  Treatise  on  Testaments 
and  Wills,  folio ;  Justice's  Dominion  and  Laws  of 
the  Sea,  4to.,  London,  1705  ;  Malloy's  DeJure  Mar- 
itimo  et  Navali,  London,  1682 ;  and  Magens's  Essay 
on  Insurances.  The  library  contains  an  excellent 
collection  of  digests,  ancient  and  modern,  and  a  full 
collection  of  the  later  reports,  and  recent  treatises. 


THE 


I  N  D  E 


A. 

Acosta's  History  of  the  Indies, 

173,  318 

Acta  Benedict! 261 

"     Ecclesiae.   261 

"     Sanctorum 265 

Adriani,  works  of. 63 

African  Dialects,  works  on 161 

JEschylus,  various  editions 31 

Butler's 31 

"          De  Pauw's 31 

Aetius's  Primum  Mobile,  1631.  ..     18 

Agassiz's  Embryology 123 

"        Nat.  Hist,  of  the  U.  S. .   392 

"        Poissons  Fossiles 123 

Agricola's  De  re  Metallica 405 

Aitzema's  History  of  the  United 

Provinces 201 

Aldrovandus's  Ichthyology 122 

"  Ornithology 241 

Alexander,  N.,   Historia   Ecclesi- 

astica 227 

Alf  Laila  wa  Laila 167 

Almagest,  Ptolemy's 19 

Almanac,  Poor  Richard's 133 

Alsop's  Hist,  of  Maryland  (1656),     52 

Amadis  de  Gaule 425 

America,  early  Spanish  works  on, 

64,  116 
"        early  printed  books  ...   313 

American  Archives 313 

"         Revolution,  works  on,    175 
"         works,  early. 178 

58 


American     works,     early,     from 

Scott's  library 105 

Amos's  G-reat  Oyer  of  Poisoning,  350 

Ampere,  works  of 15 

Ancient   Laws   of    England   and 

Wales 348 

Anderson's  Thesaurus  Scotise  ...      13 

Angler,  the  Compleat 413 

Angling,  rare  works  on  ....   103,  413 

Anglo-Saxon  Chronicles 61 

Annales  des  Sciences  Naturelles..  121 
Antiquite  Expliquee,  Montfaucon's,  28 

Antiquites  Mexicaines 385 

Antiquities,  works  on 413 

Anselm,  St.,  of  Canterbury 444 

Apollonius's  Conies 184 

Apuleius  (1488) 425 

Aquinas,  St.  Thos.,  Summa  Totus 

Theologia 223,  259 

Arabian  Nights. 167 

Arabic  Dictionaries 169 

"      Grammars 169 

"      Lexicons 363 

Arago,  works  of 15 

Architecture  Fran9aise 277 

"            Mr.  Hunt's   Collec 
tion 269 

Archiv  fur  Naturgeschichte 122 

Arctic  and  Antarctic  Voyages  ...  118 
Argonautica  Gustaviana  (1633), 52,  344 
Ariosto  Venetian,  edition  of  1584,  371 

"      Baskerville 371 

Aristophanes,  editions  of 34 


458 


INDEX. 


PACK 

Aristophanes,  Kuster's 34 

"  Brunck 34 

Aristotle,  apparatus  for  study  of .  .     48 

"        Taylor's  edition  of 48 

"        Opera  Logica,  MS 379 

"        Aldine  edition 379 

"        Bp.  Wainwright's  copy,     28 

"        De  Poetica 420 

Arnauld's  De  la  Frequente  Com 
munion 438 

Arteaga's  Musicale  Italiano   ....   425 

Ash's  Carolina, 319 

Assemanus's    Bibliotheca   Orien- 

talis 257 

Astley's  Antiquarian  Repertory..  180 
Athanasius,  St.,  works  of . . .  221,  418 
Audebert's  Histoire  Natural  de 

Singes 387 

Audubon's  Birds 127,  387 

Quadrupeds 381 

Augusteum,  Bekker's 27 

Augustine,  St.,  works  of.  .  48,  98,  221 
De  Civitate  Dei.  ..  445 
Ayliffe's  New  Pandect  of  Roman 

Law 352 

Ayliffe's  Parergon  Juris  Canonici 
Anglicini 352 

B. 

Bacon's   Essays,  Lord   Spencer's 

copy 2 

Bacon's  Mirror  of  Alchimy. .   423,  597 

Bacon,  works  of 46,  228 

Baillie's  Morbid  Anatomy 238 

Bailly's  Astronomie  Modern 16 

"      Histoire  de  1' Astronomie,     16 
Ballanche's  History  of  Philosophy,     47 
Barbarosa's  Collectanea  Juris  Ec 
clesiastics 261 

Barcia's  History  of  "W.  Indies   .  51,  374 

Baretario's  Life  of  Anchieta 440 

Barnefield's  Poems 88 

Baronius,  Cardinal,    Annales  Ec- 
clesiasticse .  .  .262 


PAGE 

Barton's  North  American  Flora. .  391 

Basanier's  Hist,  of  Florida.  .    208.  324 

Basil,  St.,  works  of. 291 

Basin's  Recueil  d'Estampes 395 

Basnage's  Histoire  de  1'Eglise.  . .  203 
"          Annales  des  Provinces 

Unies 203 

Bayle's  Dictionary 179,  228,  353 

large  -  paper 

copy 158 

Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  plays ...  88 

"          Sketches  of  Denmark,  394 

Beccaria,  works  of 49 

Bede's  History   228 

Bekker's  Anecdota  Gneca 40 

Bell's  British  Theatre 416 

Bellarmine,  Disputations  de  Con- 

troversiis  Fidei 258 

Bellecius's  Medulla  Asceseos 263 

Belles-Lettres 66 

Belzoni's  Egypt 386 

Bentley's  Lucan    35 

"         Terence 36 

Berger's  Thesaurus  Gemmarum.. .  28 

Bergier's  Dictionnaire  des  Heresies,  258 

Beugnot's  Assises  de  Jerusalem. .  349 

Beveridge,  Bishop,  works  of.. ...  261 
Bibles,  Archbishop  of  New  York's 

collection  of. 263 

Bibles,  MS 377 

"      Augsburg  edition  (1477).  .  381 

"      Mr.  Stuart's  collection  of. .  398 

"      Eliot's  Indian  (1663)    12 

"          "       Breeches 12 

"     Vinegar 73 

"      Vulgate  (1493) 12 

Bibliography,  Mr.  Griswold's  col 
lection  445 

Bibliography,  works  on 65 

Bibliotheca  Anglo-Poetica 13,  333 

Bilderdyk's  History 198 

Biographia  Britannica 228 

Biographic  Universelle 183 

Biot,  Traite  de  Physique 24 


INDEX. 


459 


Blot's  works 24,  184 

Bishop's  N.  England  Judged,  324,  339 
Blaeu's  Novum  Italiae  Theatrum. .  394 

Blagdon's  India 385 

Blake's   Illustration    of    Young's 

Night  Thoughts 427 

Blakely's  History  of  Philosophy . .    228 

Block's  Ichthyology 122 

Blome's  America 173 

Blondel  on  Oracles 185 

Blouet's  Expedition  to  the  Morea,  274 
Boaden's  Memoirs  of  John  Philip 

Kemble 417 

Boaden's  Memoirs  of  Mrs.  Siddons,  418 
Mrs.  Jordan..  418 

Boccaccio,  works  of 180 

"         Decameron,  translation 

of    159 

Bochart's  Hierozoicon 298 

Boehman,  works  of 44 

Boerhaave's  works 237 

Boetius,  edition  of  1570 139 

Boissardus  Romanae  Urbis  Anti- 

quitates   140 

Bollandus's  Acta  Sanctorum 265 

Bonacina3,  works  of 260 

Bonnet,  works  of 44 

Borellius's  De  vero  Telescopii.  .  .      18 
Borradaile's   Reports  of  Bombay 

Cases 348 

Borromeo,  St.    Charles,  Homilies,  259 
Boscovich's  Perturbations  of  Sat 
urn  and  Jupiter 18 

Bossuet,  works  of     15,  44,  225 

Boucher's  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle 

France 343 

Bougainville's   Calculi    Infinitesi- 

malis   19 

Bouillon's  Musee  des  Antiques. .    Ill 

Bourdaloue,  Sermons  de 225 

Bourke's  Law  and  Government  of 

Rome 352 

Bourne's  Steam-Erigine 409 

Bouterwek,  works  of 44 


Bouvier's  Institutionum  Philosoph- 

icarum  Cursus 228 

Bowman  on  Carbonate  of  Lime. .   408 
Boydell's  Illustrations  of  Shake 
speare,  on  India  paper 91 

Bracton's  works 282 

Bradshaw's  Views  of  Mauritius  ..   395 

Brande's  Journal  of  Science 232 

Brant's  Navis  Stultifera 381 

Brewster's    Edinburgh    Encyclo 
pedia 234 

Breydenbach's  Jerusalem  (1502). .   384 

Britton's  English  Cathedrals 395 

Britton,  J.,  Beauties   of  England 

and  Wales 305 

Britton's  Tower  of  London 305 

"        Cathedral  Antiquities ..   305 
"        Exeter  Cathedral,  unique 

copy 308 

Brocquiere's  Palestine  (1492) 126 

Browne,  Sir  Thomas,  first  edition,  423 
Brucker's  Historia  Critica  Philo- 

sophica 240 

Brunck's  Sophocles 32 

"        Aristophanes   34 

Buchon's  French  Chronicles 211 

Buck's  Ruins  of  Ancient  Cities.. .    125 

Buffon,  works  of 121 

Buillart's  Theologia  Moralis 260 

Bullarium  Magnum 261,  296 

Bullarium  Pontificum 261 

Bulliard's  History  of  Mushrooms,  163 

Bullock's  Virginia 319 

Burat's  Geologie  Applique 406 

Burckhardt's  Nubia 126,  164 

"  Syria 164 

Burman's  Ovid 33 

Burnet's  Ethiopia 387 

"        History  of  "W.  Indies. ..     62 
Burney's  Voyages  to  the  Pacific,  183 

Burns's  works,  unique  copy 7 

Burrow's  Elgin  Marbles 132 

Burton's  Anatomy  of  Melancholy, 
first  edition.  .  .423 


460 


INDEX. 


PAGK 

Busquebi's  Turkey  (1582) 126 

Bustamente's  Mananas  de  la  Ala- 

meda 374 

Byron's  English  Bards,  illustrated,  3 
Byrth  of  Mankynd,  edition  1540, 

11,  239 

C. 

Caillaud's  Voyage  a  Meroe 166 

Caille,  Travels  in  Timbuctoo 166 

Calmet's  Phantom  World 185 

Camden's  Britannia 356 

Camden  Society,  publications  of .  .  216 
Campbell's  Pleasures  of  Hope. ...  3 
Campo's  Historia  de  Cremona  .  . .  418 
Canani's  Antique  Edifices  of 

Rome 218,  275 

Canova,  outlines  of 53 

Carey,  Robert,  Memoirs 418 

Caristie's  Roman  Forum 275 

Carnot,  works  of 16 

Carriere's  De  Justitia  et  Jure. ...    260 

Carter's  Ancient  Sculpture 427 

Caste's  Architecture  Arabe 273 

Castell's  Lexicon  Heptaglotton. . .   364 

Cat,  Jacob,  Emblems 10 

Catalogues  of  celebrated  libraries,  415 
Catlin's  North  American  Indians,  394 

Causes  Celebres 180,  325 

Cave's  Historia  Literaria 266 

Celsus,  works  of 235 

Cento  Novelle,  edition  of  1554 69 

Cervantes,  editions  of 140,  425 

Chalmers's  Biography 234 

Chalybaus's  History  of  Specula 
tive  Philosophy 47 

Champlain's  Voyages 342 

Champollion's  Gr.  Egyptienne. . .  366 
Chappell's  Music  in  the  Olden 

Time 160 

Charlevoix's  Histoire  du  Jaj  an. .   182 

Chaucer's  Canterbury  Tales 401 

Chaucer,  editions  of  1542,    1561, 
and  1598..  .   142 


Chaufepie's  Continuation  of  Bayle's 

Dictionary 211 

Chenu's  Illustrations  Conchyliolo- 

giques 391 

Chess,   Mr.    Fiske's  collection   of 

works  on 194 

Chinese  Costumes,  illustrations  of,  392 

Chinese  works 167,  182 

Chronicles,  old  English 61 

Chrysostom,  St.,  works  of.. .    221.  261 

Ciacconius's  Colonna  Trajani 275 

Venice 271 

Cicero,  Aldine  edition  of 376 

"      Olivet's         "       371 

"      editions  of  Olivet,  Ernesti, 

Orelli,  &c 35 

Cicero  de  Vita  Sua 36 

"      Variorum,    Rev.    T.    Wil- 

liams's  copy 70 

Clarke's  Repertorium  Bibliograph- 

icum 415 

Clavigero's  Mexico 116,  385 

Cleaveland's  Poems,  Lamb's  copy,  428 
Clement,  St.,  of  Rome,  works  of.  221 
Clement's  Bibliotheque  Curieuse 

Pittoresque  et  Critique 268 

Glutton's  Mediaeval  Architecture 

in  France 395 

Code  Napoleon 353 

Coghan's  Haven  of  Health,  1584,  423 
Colden's  History  of  the  Five  Na 
tions  336,  338 

Collectio  Poetarum  Latinorum. . .  29 
Collier's  Ecclesiastical  History  of 

Great  Britain 262 

Collier's  Law  of  Mines 407 

Columbus,  voyages  of 206 

"          first  chart  of  his  dis 
covery  117 

Combe's  Traite  des  Mines 406 

Comte's     Cours     de    Philosophic 

Positive 45 

Concinas  Theologia  Christiana.  . .  261 
Condorcet  du  Calcul  Integral ....  16 


INDEX. 


461 


PAGE 

Confucius,  Conversations  of 167 

Constant,  works  of. 44 

Coryat's  Crudities  (1611) 384 

Cosmographies  Introd.  in  Americi 

Vespucii  Navigationes 341 

Couchaud's  Eglises  Byzantines  en 

Grece 274 

Cousin,  works  of 44 

Cowell's  Signification  of  Words.  .  351 
Cranmer's    Confutation    of    Un 
written  Verities,  1582 423 

Cranmer,  works  of 225 

Crashawe's  Poems  (1652) 384 

Crasso's  Elogii  d'Huomini  Letter- 

ati 420 

Creuxius's  Historia  Canadensis, 

49,  116,  343 

Creuzer,  works  of. 44 

Crevier's  Roman  Emperors 183 

Cuvier,  works  of 122,  127 

Cyril,  St.,  works  of 221,  261 

D. 

D'Agincourt's  L'Histoire  de  1'Art, 

270,  415 
D'Aguesseau,    Chancellor,   works 

of 353 

D'Alembert's  Traite  de   Dynam- 

ique 16 

Dalyell's  Superstitions  of  Scotland  186 
Damascenus  Johannes,  works  of. .  290 
Damiron's  History  of  Philosophy 

in  the  XVIIIth  century 46 

Dana,  James  D.,  Zoophytes.  . .  .  391 
Daniel's  reply  to  Pascal's  letters,  439 
Dante's  Divina  Comedia,  edition 

of  1491 429 

Dante,  Florence  edition  of  1481 ..   372 

"     edition  of  1497 189 

"      with    Landino's   Commen 
taries 139 

Davenant,  Sir  W..  poems 141 

Davy,  Sir  H.,  illustrated  unique 
copy  of  life 4 


De  Bry's  Peregrinationum, 

49,  116,  209,  388 

Mr.  Bar 
ton's  copy 64 

Decameron,  poetical  version  of.  . .      69 
De  Chastellux's  Felicite  Publique,     45 

Decker's  Gull's  Horne-booke 89 

De  Godoy's  Pompa  Funeral  en  la 
Muerte  y  Exequas   del  Doctor 

Salzedo 403 

De  Graeffe,  works  of 235 

Dekker's  Bellman  of  London 423 

De  La  Beche's  Survey  of  Cornwall,  409 

De  Laet's  New  World, 207,  343 

Delambre's  History  of  Ancient  As 
tronomy   24 

De  le  Vega's  Peru 385 

Delin's  Traite  des  Mines 406 

Del  Eio,  Ruins  near  Palenque  .  . .   385 
De  Lyra,  N.,  Commentaries. .   264,  294 

Demonology,  works  on 184 

Denisart's    Collections   of   Juris 
prudence 353 

Denon's  Egypt 101,  386 

De  Penhoen's  History  of  German 

Philosophy 47 

De  Quincy  (Quatremere),  works  of,  273 

Le  Jupi 
ter  Olympien 273 

De  Sacy,  Extraits  des  Manuscrits,  168 
De  Solis's  History  of  the  Conquest 

of  Mexico 173 

D'Herbelot's  Bibliotheque   Orien- 

tale 182 

Dibdin's     Bibliomania,     Turner's 

copy     7 

Dibdin,  works  of. 415 

Dictionnaire,  Infernal 186 

"          des  sciences  Medicale,  232 
Classique  de  Histoire 

Naturelle 217 

Dictionnaire  des  Heresies 258 

de  Theologie 258 

Raisonne  des  Arts. .   164 


462 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Digby,  Sir  Kenelm,  on  Body  and 

Soul 185 

Diodorus's  Histoire  Universelle.  .  126 
Diogenes  Vitis  et  Dogmat.  Philos.  139 
Dionysius  Areopagita,  works  of. .  290 

Dixon's  Geology  of  Sussex 409 

Dodoen's  Niewe  Herball  (1578).  .   423 

D'Ohsson's  Ottoman  Empire 162 

Domat's  Civil  Law 456 

Donne's  Catalogue  of  Plants 127 

"       Poems 429 

Drake's  Antiquities  of  Boston 160 

Drakenborch's  Livy 35 

Drama,  works  in  Mr.  White's  col 
lection 416 

Drayton's  Poems 429 

Dubourg's   Ancient  Buildings   of 

Rome 396 

Du  Cange's  Glossarium 38,  354 

Du  Fresnoy 185 

Dugdale's  Warwickshire 62 

"         Origines  Judiciales.  ...  350 
"         Monasticon     Anglica- 

num 140,  372 

Du  Halde's  History  of  China 182 

Du  Lude  on  Apparitions 185 

Dumont  and  Rousset,  Corps  Diplo 
matique  373 

Du  Pin's  Ecclesiastical  History.  .   227 
"        Droit  Ecclesiastique  ....   352 

Duppa's  lonsonvs  Yirbivs 254 

Durer,  Albert,  Designs 9 

Du   Sommeraud's    Les    Arts    au 

Moyen  Age 270 

Duten's  Leibnitz 43 

E. 

Early  Printed  Books 381 

Edda  of  Soemund 189 

Eden's  Decades  of  Peter  Martyr..  341 
Edwards,  Jonathan,  works  of. ...  46 

Effigies  Virorum 392 

El  Devoto  Pelegrino  (1656) 166 

Ellis's  Madagascar 165 


PAGE 

Elzevir's  Classics 180 

"        Livy,  Plautus 28 

Encke,  works  of 22 

Encratites,  works  of 288 

Endlicher's  Genera  Plantarum  ...  163 

Ephrem,  St.,  works  of 221 

Erasmus's  Praise  of  Folie 424 

Erdmann's  Geschichte  der  neuern 

Philosophie 47 

Erigena  De  Divisione  Naturae. ...  48 

Euler,  works  of 184 

Euripides,    editions  in  Prof.   An- 

thon's  collection 33 

Euripides,  Elmsley's 33 

Eusebius,  works  of 227 

"        edition  of  1483 139 

Evagrius,  works  of 227 

Evans's  British  Colonies  in  Amer 
ica   387 

Exton's  Maritime  Dicselogie.  . . .  353 

F. 

Fabricius's  Bibliotheca  Grasca. . .    266 
Faribault's  Catalogue  d'Ouvrages 
sur  1'Histoire  del  Amerique .  . .   333 

Fathers,  works  of. 96,  221 

Fell,  Bishop,  Life  of  Hammond.  .   445 
Ferguson's   Architecture  of  Hin- 

dostan 392 

Ferguson's  Jerusalem .    165 

Ferguson's  Rock-cut  Temples  of 

India 393 

Ferrari's  Prompta  Bibliotheca. . . .    257 
Ferriere's  History  of  Roman  Law,  352 

Feurbach,  works  of 44 

Fichte,  J.  H.,  works  of 44 

Firuzibadi's  El  Kamus 363 

Fischer,  Kuno,  works  of 44 

"             "      History   of  Mod 
ern  Philosophy 47 

Flaxman's  Designs 132 

Fleury's  Ecclesiastical  Hist..  227,  262 

Florio's  works 420 

Forbes's  Oriental  Memoirs. .   365,  183 


INDEX. 


463 


Force,  Peter.  American  Archives. .  329 

Ford's  Rajhast'han 385 

Fonthill  Abbey,  by  Neal 393 

Forskal's     Descrip.     Animal,     et 

Plant.  Egyptiaca-Arabica 163 

Fortlage,  works  of 44 

Franklin,  B.,  works  from  press  of,  316 
Frayssinous,  Archbishop,  Defense 

du  Christianisme 257 

Frazier's  Zoologie  Typica 387 

Freher's  Paradoxa  Emblemata.  . .  10 
Freherus,  Paulus,  Theatrum  Vio- 

rum  eruditione  Clarorum 181 

French  historians,   Buchon,  Peti- 

tot,  &c 62 

French  Revolution,  Memoirs  of . .  372 

Froissart's  Chronicles 61,  158 

Les  Croniques 418 

Froissart,    Humphrey's     illustra 
tions  of 158 

Fulgosius's  Anteros 144 

Fuller,  Wm.,   Life  of,  and  collec 
tion  of  tracts  relating  to  the 

Pretender 160 

Fulton,  Life  of,  unique 6 

O. 

Gage's  New  Survey  of  the  "West 

Indies 251,  318 

Gaisford's  Lexicon 39 

"         Hephaestion 40 

Galen,  works  of 235 

Galerie  du  Musee  de  France..  .    .   396 
Gallery,  National  of  Pictures. . . .   396 

"        Dresden 396 

"        Florence   Ill,  396 

"        Palais  Pitti 395 

"        Munich 396 

Wilkie 396 

"        Vernon   396 

"         Vienna 396 

"        Historique  des   Contem- 

poraines Ill 

Gauss,  works  of 22 


Gauthier's  Edifices  of  Genoa 276 

Geographia  Grasci  Minores 206 

German  Astronomers,  works  of.  .  22 
Gesner's  De  rerum  Fossilium. . . .  406 

Gesta  Romanorum 63 

Gethinge's  Calligraphotechnia.  . ..  423 
Geylen's  Specula  Fatuorum  (1511),  381 
Gilbert's  Corpus  Juris  Canonici. .  261 
Ginguene's  Histoire  Lit.  d'ltalie. .  266 
Girard's  Herpetology  of  the  U.  S. 

Exploring  Expedition 391 

Gisborne's  Moral  Philosophy 228 

Godman's  Rambles  of  a  Natural 
ist  124 

Goethe's  Reineke  Fuchs 427 

Gorges,  Sir  A.,  Lucan 141 

Gosselin's  Geography  of  the  An 
cients     39 

Gothofredi's  ed.  of  Theodosianus,  352 

Gould's  Birds  of  Australia 390 

"  "        Asia 390 

"        Europe 390 

"       Animals  of  Australia. ...  390 

"       Odontophorinse 390 

Grainger's  Biographical  Dictionary, 

8,  132 

Grammars 71 

Grand  Costumier  du  Normandie ..  282 
Gratian's  Corpus  Juris  Canonici. .  297 

Gray's  Indian  Zoology 391 

Greenwell's  Mine  Engineering. .  . .  407 

Grew's  Rarities 242 

Grinchovius's    History   of   India 

Missions 443 

Grindlay's  Western  Side  of  India,  393 
Grose's  Antiquities  of  England, 

Wales,  and  Scotland 180 

Grosier's  History  of  China 182 

Groth's  Theologica  Opera 258 

Grotius,  Hugo,  works  of 199 

Gryaneus's  Novus  Orbis 209,  251 

Guarini's    Commentaries   of  Ser- 

vius   138 

Gubitz's  Wood  Etchings 9 


464 


INDEX. 


H. 

Hakluyt  Society  publications ....    210 

Hakluyt's  Voyages.   49,  116,  209,  251 

Hall's  Chronicles,  ed.  of  1548..  . .   419 

ed.  of  1577,  92,  151 

Hamann,  works  of 44 

Hamilton,  Sir  Wm..  works  of.  ...    210 
Hampden's  Philosophy  of  the  Mid 
dle  Ages 228 

Hardouin's  Pliny 35 

Hardynge's  Chronicles 92 

Hargrave's  State  Trials 373 

Harrington's  Epigrams 429 

"            translation  of  Orlan 
do  Furioso  (1591) 428 

Harris's  Ethiopia 165 

"         Justiniani  Institutionum,  456 
Haiireau's    Philosophic    Scholas- 

tique 46 

Hazelwood's   Essay   on    English 

Poets 420 

Head's  English  Rogue 69 

Heck's   Iconographic   Encyclope 
dia 234 

Heidelberg  Catechism 99 

Henckle's  Pyritologie 406 

Hennepin's    New    Discovery    in 

America 173 

Herodotus 125,  205 

Herrara's  Novus  Orbis. .   51,  250,  319 

"         General  History 251 

Higden,  Raulph.  Polychronicon . .   140 

Hippocrates,  works  of 235 

Histories,  State 177,  386 

"         English,  Hume,  Smollett,  62 
Histoire  des  Empereurs  Romains,  183 
"       Generate  des  Voyages..   167 
History  of  Ancient   and  Modern 

Literature 41 

Hitchcock's  Sandstone  of  Connec 
ticut  valley 391 

Hittorf  's  Architecture  of  Modern 

Sicily 276 

Hobbes,  works  of 157 


Holbein's  Dance  of  Death 427 

Holbrook's  Ichthyology  of  South 

Carolina 391 

Holinshed's  Chronicles,  ed.  1587,  419 

"  "          61,  91 

Holland's  Horologia  Anglica 11 

Homer,  editions  in  Dr.  Anthon's 

collection 30,  35 

Homer,  Heyne's 30 

"       Pope's  translation 30 

"       Madame  Dacier's  transla 
tion 30 

Hooker,    Sir  William,  Himalayan 

Journals 386 

Hooker's   Botany  of  the   Erebus 

and  Terror 391 

Hooker's  Ecclesiastical  Polity 358 

Hope's  Costumes  of  the  Ancients,   132 

Horace,  editions  of. 35 

"      Venetian  edition,  1486 ...   371 

Horse,  treatises  on   126 

Host's  Morocco 165 

Hrosvite  Opera 69,  145 

Hubbard's  Indian  Wars,  first  ed.    156 

Hughes's  Nomotamia 350 

Humboldt's  Atlas  Pittoresque. .  . .    Ill 
"          Voyage  to  America.  .    182 
Nouvelle  Espagne . . .   374 
"          Monumens   des  Peu- 
ples  indigenes  de  1'Amerique. .   393 
Hunt,   Leigh,    Critical  Essays  on 

London  Theatres 418 

Hunter's  Illustrations  of  the  Gra 
vid  Uterus 239 

Hussey's  British  Mycology   391 

Hutchinson's  State  Papers 156 

"  History   of    Massa- 

chusett's  Bay 331 

Huygens,  works  of     23 

I. 

Icelandic  literature 187 

Ichthyology,  works  on 122 

Imago  Primi  Seculi. 439 


INDEX. 


465 


PAGE 

Irving's  New  York,  illustrated. . .        7 

"        Knickerbocker,     "       ...        7 

Ittigius's  Patres  Apostolici 287 

J. 

Jahn's  Archseologia  Biblica..    127,  226 
Janet's  Histoire  de  la  Philosophic 

Morale 47 

Jansenists,  works  of 436 

Jansenius's  Augustinius 437 

"          and  Jesuits 436 

Japan,  illustrations  of 392 

Jardine's  Torture  in  English  law,  351 

"         Criminal  Trials 351 

Jesuit  Relations 57,  335 

Johnson,    "W.    R-.,    on    American 

Coals 408 

Jonson,  Ben,  works  of.  ..  68,  254,  417 

"          edition  of  1692 384 

original  folios 417 

Jordano,  works  of 49 

Joris's  Wonder  Book 434 

Josselyn's  New  England  Rarities, 

156,  318 

New  England 249 

Jourdain's  Philosophy  of  St.  Thos. 

Aquinas 47 

Joutel's  La  Salle's  last  Voyage. . .   319 
Jovius's  Elogia  virorum  bellica  vir- 

tute  Illustrium 419 

Jurisprudence,  Chancellor  Kent's 

collection 281 

Jurisprudence,  John  Van  Buren's 

collection 455 

Jurisprudence,  Wm.  Curtis  Noyes's 

collection 347 

Justice's  Laws  of  the  Sea 456 

Justinian's  Polyglot  Psalter 369 

Pandects 281 

K. 

Kaempfer's  Historia  Japonici.  .  .  .  385 
Kalevala,  Castren's  Swedish  ver 
sion  of 193 

59 


PAGE 

Kalevala,     French    and    German 

translation  of 193 

Keating's  Morocco 165 

Keeling's  Liturgiae  Britannicas. .  .  227 

Keith's  Virginia     385 

Kelham's  Domesday  Book 348 

Kerroux's  History 199 

Kerschenbroeck's  History  of  Mini 
ster 435 

Khalfa  Hajji's  Jehan  Numah 361 

Kienari's  Coquilles  Yivants 391 

Kingsborough,  Lord,  Mexican  An 
tiquities 116,  182,  385 

Kingston's   Arte    of   Rhetorique 

(1562) 96 

Klein,  attack  on  Linnaeus 121 

Knox's  American  Campaigns. . .  .   174 

Koran 361 

•'      MS.  copies  of 169 

Kerb's  Russia 372 

Kok's   Vaderlandsche    "Woorden- 

boeck 211 

Kuhn's  Greek  Medical  writers. .  .   100 
Kuster's  Systematic  Conchology,  391 

L. 

Laborde's  Voyage  dans  1' Arabic 

Petree 161 

Laborde's  Vo}rage  Pittoresque.  . .   387 

La  Croix's  Le  Moyen  Age 181 

Lagrange,  works  of 183 

Lalande,  works  of 183 

Lambertini  (Pope  Benedict  XIV.), 

works  of 258 

Lamennais's  Essai    sur   1'Indiffe- 

rence 257 

Langle's  Contes  du  gay  scavoir.  .   428 
Langley's  Architecture  of  Hindos- 

tan 273 

La  Place's  Mecanique   Celeste, 

23,  164,  183 
"        Bowditch's,  164 
La  Plat's  Monumenta  Concilii  Tri- 

dentini .   262 


466 


INDEX. 


La  Quien's  Oriens  Christianus .  . .  262 
L'Art  de  Verifier  les  Dates,  180,  266 
Las  Casas  Regionum  Indicarum 

per  Hispanos 318 

La  Touraine 1 59,  402 

Laurent's  Etudes  surl'Histoire  de 

la  Humanite   45 

Lawes's  Ayres  and  Dialogues. ...  425 
Lawrence,  Sir  Thomas,  works  of,  396 
Lawson's  Journal   among  the  In 
dians 318 

Le  Brun  on  Superstitious   Prac 
tices 186 

Le  Brun,  Pierre,  Explication  de  la 

Messe 225 

Legendre 184 

Leibnitz,  complete  works  of 43 

'"         Duten's  edition  of 43 

"         Erdman's       "       ......     44 

"        A    Toucher  de    Careil, 

edition  of 44 

Le  Jay's  Parisian  Polyglot 264 

Le  Long's  Bibliotheca  Sacra 268 

Lemaire's  collection  of  classic  au 
thors 28 

Leonardus,  C.,  Mirror  of  Stones. .   406 

Lescarbot's  New  France 342 

Letaurouilly's  Modern  Rome  ....  276 
Lettres  Edifiantes  et  Curieuses, 

181,  209,  374 

Lexicons,  Arabic 363 

"         Classical 40 

Liber  Veritatis  of  Claude  Lorraine,  396 
Lingard's  Antiquities  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Church 262 

LinnaBus,  works  of 121 

Lithgow's  Rare  Adventures 145 

Livy,  Drakenborch's  edition  of.  .  .     35 

Lodge's  Portraits 62,  373,  396 

Loggan's  Oxonia  Illustrata 384 

Lornbardi's  Sententiarum 256 

Longinus'sDe  Sublimitate 422 

Lorgna's  Mathematical  works..  .  18 
Lucan,  Bentley's  edition  of 35 


Lucius's  History  of  the  Jesuits..  .  441 

Lucretius,  edition  of  1 5 15 37 1 

Ludolph's  Holy  Land 365 

Lydius's  "Waldensia 436 

Lyly's  Euphues 424 

Lyn wood's  Provincial  Councils  of 

England 262 

Lyon's  Orchidaceous  Plants 391 

OT. 

Maberly's  Print  Collector 5 

Machiavelli,  works  of 49 

MacLaurin's  Geometria  Organica,     18 

McNaughten's  Hindoo  Law 349 

McPherson's     Ethnological     and 

Physical  History  of  the  Crimea,  393 
Maffeius's  Japanese  Missions. . . .  441 

Magic,  works  on 184 

Makamat  of  Hariri 170 

Malleus  Mallificarum 185 

Malloy's  De  Jure  Maritime 456 

Malte  Brun,  Annales  des  Voyages,  209 
"          Nouvelles         "  207 

Mammalt's  Ashley  Coal  Field 409 

Mandeville,  Sir  John,  Palestine, 

355,  365 

Marite's  History 321 

Mantel's  Geology  of  Sussex 409 

Manuscripts,  Arabic 169 

Revolutionary,     Mr. 

Bancroft's  collection 53 

Maps,  Mr.  Brevoort's  collection  of  117 

Mariana's  History  of  Spain, 372 

Marmontel's  works 180 

Martyr,  Peter,  decades  of . . .    116,  156 

Maryatt's  Borneo 387 

Massillon,  works  of 180,  225 

Mather,  Cotton,  Magnalia,  249,  326,  359 
Mauber's  Emblemata,  Fuseli's  copy,   1 3 

Maundrell's  Holy  Land 355 

Maurice's  Indian  Antiquities 183 

"         Hindostan 183 

Maury,  Alfred,  History  of  Relig 
ion  in  Ancient  Greece.  .  45 


INDEX. 


467 


Memoires  de  1'Academie  des  In 
scriptions Ill 

Memoires  du  Musee  d'Hist.  Nat.,  121 
Meninski's  Turkish  Dictionary.  .  .  365 
Mer  des  Histoires,  ed.  of  1 543 .  . .  419 

Meyer's  British  Birds 391 

Mezeray's  Chroniques  Abregees  de 

1'Histoire  de  France 212 

Michelet's  History  of  Modern  Ger 
man  Philosophy 47 

Migne's  Theologias  Cursus 257 

Mills's  British  India 385 

Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  first  ed.  ..  430 
"        works,  Pickering's  ed.  . .   430 

"        Todd's  edition  . , 401 

Minot's  Massachusetts 177 

Missalls.  Roman,  MS 378 

Moalakt 172 

Moehler's  la  Symbolique 258 

Mohammed,  Life  of 1 68 

Moliere's  plays,  Elzevir  edition.  ..417 

"        works  of 189 

Molina's  Dictionary  of  the  Mexi 
can  language 338 

Montfaucon's  Antiquite  Expliquee, 

28,  180,  272 

Moody 's  Narrative 175 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  Utopia 339 

"  "  collected  works,  381 

"  "  Life    of    Picus 

Mirandula 381 

Moreri's  Dictionaire  Historique, 

211,  372 
Morgagni's  De  Sedibis  et   Causis 

Morborum 237 

Moroni's  Dizionariodi  Erudizione,  256 
Morton's  New  England  Canaan.  .  325 

Mosella,  edition  princeps 103 

Mouradja's    (D'Ohsson)    Tableau 

General  de  1'Empire  Othoman.  .   162 

Mourt's  New  England  Relation.  .   342 

Mozichi's  Historical  Dissertations,   262 

Munster's   Cosmographia  Novum 

Orbis  Regionum,  (1537) 136 


PAGE 

Muratori 64 

Murchison's  Russia  and  the  Ural 

Mountains 409 

Murphy's  Arabian  Antiquities.  . .     62 

Musee  Frangais 53,  111,  373 

"      Royal 53,  111 

Museo  Pio-Clementino 27 

N. 

Natural  History,  works  of 121 

Navarrete's  Collection  of  Voyages,  207 

"          History 51 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  Horsley's  edi 
tion  of 183 

New  York  Medical  Repository. . .   233 
"          Medical  and  Physical 

Journal 233 

New  York  Medical  and  Philosoph 
ical  Register 233 

New  York,  Natural  History  of. . .  392 

Nibby's  Foro  Romano 218 

"       Roma  ed  Intorno  di  Roma,  218 
Nichols's  Literary  Anecdotes. ...     65 

Niebuhr's  Rome 125 

Nieuwentyt's  Religious  Philoso 
pher 128 

Norden's  Egypt  and  Nubia 161 

Nouvelles  Ecclesiastiques 438 

Novum  Italia3  Theatrum 392 

Nuremberg  Chronicle,  first  edition, 

11,  63,  420 
O. 
Oakley's  Order  and  Ceremonial..  .   227 

Ogilby's  America 249 

Oken's  Isis 121 

Olaus  Magnus 180 

Old  New  York,  by  Dr.  Francis. .  .   233 

Olivet's  Cicero 35 

Oppian,   editio  Princeps,  Optima, 

and  Aldine 1 03 

Origen,  works  of 288 

Orsato's  Inscriptions  on  Ancient 
Marbles  and  Bronzes — the  poet 
Gray's  copy 413 


468 


INDEX. 


Ottius's  Annals  of  the  Anabaptists,  435 
Ottley's  History  of  Engravings. .  .      10 

Oughton's  Ordo  Judiciorura 351 

Ouseley's  Voyage  in  Persia 166 

Oviedo's  Historia  General  y  Natu 
ral  de  laslndias 51,  207 

Ovid,  Barman's  edition  of 35 

"      Sandys's         "      " 141 

P. 

Palavicini's  History  of  the  Council 

of  Trent 262 

Palgrave's  History  of  Normandy,  357 
"  English  Commonwealth,  357 
"  Original  Authority  of 

the  King's  Council 357 

Palmer's  Origines  Liturgiye 227 

Paris  Papers  (Dean's  intercepted 

letters) 328 

Parkman's  History  of  Pontiac ....   320 

Pascal's  Pensees 263 

Pasquin,  Antony  (Williams),  satir 
ical  poems  of. 355 

Pass,  Crispin  de,  Emblems 10 

Peacham's  Garden  of  Eloquence,  422 
Pennsylvania,  Proud's  History.  .  .   177 
Percy's  Reliques  of  Ancient  Po 
etry 355 

Perrin's  Collection  des  Memoires,  210 

Perrone  Chiesa  Cattolica 257 

"       Praslectiones  Theologicse,  257 

Perry's  Oriental  Cases 349 

Persian  Dictionary,  Burhan-i-Ka- 

tiah 365 

Petrarch's  Poems,  editio  princeps,.  218 
"       Venice,  1547.  .   372 
Petrarke's  Physicke  against  For 
tune 424 

Phalaris 36 

Phillips's  Illustrated  Mexico 394 

Phipps's   Voyage     to   the   North 

Pole 387 

Picart's  Religious  Ceremonies  ...    159 
Piers  Ploughman 355 


Pigouchet,  early  works  printed  by,  380 
Piranesi's  Architecture  of  Greece 

and  Rome 275 

Pisoni's  Historia  Nat 145 

Pitiscus's  Thesaurus  Mathemat- 

icus 18 

Plato,  Bekker,  Stallbaum,  Ast,  and 

Oxford  editions 48 

Platonists,  elder  and  later 48 

Plautus,  editio  princeps 417 

"  (1518) 137 

Plin^y,  younger,  works  of 235 

Plotinus,  editions  of  Paris  and  Ox 
ford  48 

Plummer  on  the  Book  of  Common 

Prayer 227 

Plutarch,  best  edition  of 48 

Poetaj  Graeci  Veteres 30 

Poisoning,  Great  Over  of 350 

Pole  on  the  Cornish  Engine 409 

Politian's  Miscellanea  (1489) 452 

Polychronicon 140 

Polyglot,  first  ever  printed 369 

Pope's  Rape  of  the  Lock,  illustrated,  1 3 

Ponson  on  Coal  Mining 408 

Pontoppidan's  Natural  History  of 

Norway 391 

Person's  Euripides 33 

Porta,  J.  B  ,  Humana  Physiogno- 

mia 240 

Portlock's  Geology  of  Londonderry,  409 

Pothier,  works  of 281 

Poulain.  Cabinet  de g 

Provost's  Histoire  General  des 

Voyages 117 

Proclus,  Cousin's 48 

"  Taylor's  translation.  ...  45 
Prosper!  Alpini  de  Plant.  Egypt.  .  1 68 

Proud's  Pennsylvania 386 

Pryce's  Mineralogia  Cornubiensis,  406 

Prynne's  Histriomastix 384 

Psalter,  MS 378.  379 

Ptolemy's  Almagest 19,  184 

"  Claudius,  Cosmographia,  204 


INDEX. 


469 


Purcell's  Orpheus  Britannicus  .  . .   425 

Purchas's  Pilgrimes 49.  209 

Puttonham's  Art  of  English  Poesie, 

381,  421 


Quarles's  Poems 141 


R. 

Rabelais,  editions  of 426 

Racine,  works  of 180 

Ramusio's  America 209,  116,  340 

Randall's  Memorials  of  Japan.  .  .  .  385 
Raynaldi's  Annales  Ecclesiastics,  262 

Roland's  Palestina 298 

Reports  of  State  Trials 455 

Reybaud's  Reformateurs,  modern,     45 
Reynard,  the  Fox  edition  (1581),     11 
Richter's  Corpus  Juris  Canonic! .  .   353 
Ridley,  Sir  Thomas,  Civil  and  Ec 
clesiastical  Law 352 

Ritter's  Christian  Philosophy.  ...     47 
"       Henrich,    Geschichte   der 

Philosophie  alter  zeit 47 

Rochefoucault's  United  States. . .  386 
Rochette's  Peintures  Antiques.  .  .  428 
Rodger's  North  America.  .  .  .  173,  320 
Rogers's  Geology  of  Pennsylvania,  391 
"  Italy,  poet's  own  copy.  .  57 

Romant  de  la  Rose 67 

Rondeletius's  Marine  Fishes 240 

Rosmini,  works  of 49 

Rothenflue's   Institutiones    Theo 
retic*  228 

Rousseau's  Botany 391 

Rugendo's  Voyage  Pittoresque  dans 

le  Bresel 161 

Russell's  Aleppo 164 


Saga  of  Olaf. 187 

Sagas,  collection  of 187 


PAGE 

Sagard's  Vocabulary   of  Ancient 

Huron 337 

Sagna  froida 188 

St.  Non's  Voyage  Pittoresque  de 

Naples  et  du  Sicile Ill 

Salverte  on  Occult  Sciences 186 

Sanscrit  Dictionary,  "Wilson's.  ...     39 
Santarem's  Recherches  sur  Americ 

Vespuce  et  ses  Voyages 208 

Scarpa,  works  of 235 

Scavani's  Moral  Theology 261 

Schlestrate's  Antiquitas  Ecclesiffi,  262 

Schoolcraft's  Indian  Tribes 182 

Schoppenhauer,  works  of. 44 

Schultzen's  Heimskringla 187 

Scot  Reginald,  Witchcraft.  . .   96,  185 
Scott,    Walter,   Waverley  novels, 

Abbotsford  edition 426 

Seeling's  Temple  of  Eloro 132 

Segur's  Histoire  Universelle  ....    211 

Selby's  Birds 255 

Selden's  Fletae 456 

Seneca,  Lipsius  edition  of 38 

"        Antwerp  (1570) 139 

"       his  Tenne  Tragedies 417 

Sere's  Le  Moyen  Age 271 

Sermons,  collection  of 268 

Shakespeare,  first  folio 2,  146 

"      Mr.  Stevens's,  197 

BoydelPs    "    147 

Hanrner's   "    147 

Pope's  edition 147 

illustrated    by    Mr. 

Barton 148 

Portraits  of 149 

Mr.    Barton's    four 

folios 74,  81 

Mr.   Barton's   early 

quartos 76 

Mr.  Barton's  Doubt 
ful  plays 86 

Mr.  Barton's  altered 

plays 87 

alterations  of  1st  folio,  8 1 


470 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Shakespeare,  Sources 91 

Mr.  White's  collec 
tion 430 

Shaw's  Decorations  of  the  Middle 

Ages 10,  413 

Shaw's  Natural  History 121 

Skelton's  Oxonia  Antiqua  Restau- 

rata 62 

Siculus,  Diodorus,  History  of  the 

World 405 

Sidney,  Sir  Philip,  Arcadia.- 159 

Simple  Cobbler  of  Aggawam 156 

Sismondi's  Histoire  des  Francais,  212 

Sloan's  Jamaica 386 

Smith,  Capt.  John,  History  of  Vir 
ginia 49,  247,  343 

Smith's  New  York 357 

Solomon's   Ancient   and    Modern 

Rome 413 

Somers,  Lord,  Tracts 253 

Sophocles,  various  editions 32 

''          Stephens's  edition.  ...    139 
Sotheby's  Principia  Typographica,   157 
Souciet's  Observations  of  the  Jes 
uits  in  China 18 

Southey's  Brazil 218,  386 

Sowerby's  British  Mineralogy 408 

Sowerby's  Thesaurus   Conchylio- 

rum 391 

Speculum  Sapientias 426 

Spedeleri's  Confutazione  de  Gibbon,  268 

Spellman's  Glossary 350 

Spencer's   De   Legibus   Hebraeo- 

rum 298 

Spenser's  Faerie  Queen,  first  ed.,  430 
"  "     (1609).  .    142 

Daphnaida(159l) 66 

'•         Tears    of   the     Muses 

(1591) 68 

"         Colin  Clout  (1595) 11 

Todd's  edition 401 

Spinoza,  various  editions  of. 44 

Sprengel's  History  of  Medicine. .  .   238 
Sprenger's  Malleus  Maleficarum. .   381 


Spriiner's  Historical  Atlas 157 

State  Histories,  Mr.  Menzies's  col 
lection 331 

Statham's  Abridgment  of  English 

Law 349 

Statins,  edition  of  1498 138 

Stith's  Virginia 331,  385 

Stothard's  Monumental  Effigies  . .  181 

Storer's  British  Cathedrals 449 

Strabo,  Falconer's  edition 37 

Stratico's  Vitruvius 35 

Strype's  works 62 

Stuart  and  Revett's  Athens,  112,  394 

Swineburne's  Spain 386 

Syllacius's   De   Insulis   Meridiani 
atque  Indici  Meris   Nuper   In- 

ventis 386 

Sylvester's  Du  Bartas 354 

T. 

Taliafero's  Georgia 249 

Tarleton's    History    of    Southern 

Campaigns 328 

Tasso,  Fairfax's 142 

"      Gerusalemme  Liberata,  edi 
tion  of  1590 372 

Taylor,  John.  Water-poet,  works,  143 

"       Voyage  Pittoresque 278 

Teatro  Espanola 372 

Temminck's  Ornithology 73,  217 

"          and  Schlegel's  Fishes 

of  Japan 123 

Temple,  Sir  Wm.,  works  of 359 

Terence,  Bentley   and  Westerho- 

vius's  editions  of 36 

Terence,  selections  from 422 

Theatrum  Ethnica  Politico  Histo- 

ricum 10 

Theologia  Cursus  Completus 225 

Theophrastus   Historia  et   Causis 

Plantarum 217 

Thierry,  Augustin,  works  of 212 

"       Amedee,  Histoire   de   la 
Gaule,  &c...  .212 


INDEX. 


471 


VAGH 

Thomassinus's  Disciplina 297 

Thompson's  Annals  of  Philosophy,  232 

Thorwaldsen,  outlines  of 53 

Thucydides 125 

Ticknor's  History  of  Spanish  Lit 
erature  65 

Tiedmann,  Legal  Medicine 236 

Tillemont's  Histoire  Ecclesiastique,  211 
Tillock's  Philosophical  Magazine,  232 

Tiraboschi.  works  of J  80 

"          Historie  della  Lettera- 

tura  Italiana 218 

Tolberg,  Medicine,  legal 236 

Torquemada 207 

Tractatus   Verborum,  printed  by 

Wynkyn  de  Worde 11 

Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society,  232 
Am.  Philosophical 

Society     232 

Travels,  works  of 40 

"       collections  of 64 

"        of    Chandler,     Pococke, 
Clarke,  Fellows,  Leake,  Layard, 

Ainsworth 40 

Travels  in  Asia  and  Africa,  works 

of 164 

Trevisa's  Polychronicon  (1497).  . .  381 
Trigantius's  Christian  triumphs  in 

Japan 442 

Tschudi's  Peru 387 

Tuckey's  Expedition  to  the  Congo 
river 166 

U. 

UdalTs  Flowers  of  Eloquence.  ...  422 
Unwin  on  Tin 406 

V. 

Vaca,  de,  Smith's  translation  of.  ..  120 
Vacherot's  Histoire  Antique  de 

1'Ecole  d'Alexandrie 47 

Valentyn's  Oud  en  Niew  Oost  In- 

dien 117 

Valpy's  Delphin  Classics 28.  256 


PACJK 

Vander  Aa's  Zee  en  Laridreisen.  .  117 
Van  der  Donck's  Niew  Nederlant,  343 
Van  Hammer-Purgstall,  works  of,  367 
Van  Meteren's  History  of  Holland,  20) 
Van  Wasssener's  Historical  Rela 
tions  202 

Varchi 63 

Vasari,  works  of 180 

Vecelli's  Habiti  Antichi  e  Moderni 

di  tutto  il  mondo  (1598) 414 

Venables.  works  of 102 

Venega's  California 385 

Vermont,  Williams's  History  of . .    177 

Versailles  Gallery 396 

Villagutierre's  Historia  de  la  Con- 

quista  de  Itza 208 

Villefosse's  De  la  Richesse  Min- 

erale 407 

Virgil,  editions  of 36 

"      Wagner's  edition  of 42 

"      Ogilby's  translation  of ....    138 

"      Vatican  edition  (1765) 180 

"      Stephens's  edition  (1532)..  452 

Virginia,  Histories  of 175 

"        MSS.  in  Mr.   Bancroft's 

library 57 

Vitruvius,  Stratico's  edition  of.  .  .     35 

Voet's  Pandects 456 

Voltaire,  works  of 212 

Vostre,  Simon,  early  printing  by,  380 

Voyages,  collections  of 117 

"         Knox,  Burney,  Dampier,  117 
"         Arctic  and  Antarctic  .  .    117 

"         to  the  North  Pole 386 

Vries,  De,  New  Netherland 120 

W. 

Wagenaar's  Vaderlandsche  Hist.,  198 

Wagner,  Epistola  Critica 42 

"        Virgil 42 

Wake's  Rex  Platonicus 96 

Wakefield's  Lucretius 256 

Walpole,  Sir  Robt,  works  of 357 

Walton's  Biblia  Sacra  Polyglotta,  367 


472 


INDEX. 


Walton  and  Cotton's  Angler,  Pick 
ering's  edition,  illustrated 7 

Walton's    Complete    Angler,    Dr. 

Bethune's  copy 101 

Walton's  writings 101 

Warner's    Albion    and    England 

(1586) 142 

Watt's  Bibliotheca  Britannica 228 

Weigelt  s  History  of  Modern  Phi 
losophy 47 

Westall's  Views  of  Australia.  ...   392 

Wharton's  Angli  Sacra 262 

Whitbourne's  Newfoundland 319 

White's  Constantinople 166 

Wicquefort's  Histoire   des   Prov 
inces  Unies 203 

Wilkins,  Bishop,  on  Philosophical 

Language 267 

Wilkin-on's  Modern  Egypt 166 

Willemin's  Monumens  Francais  In- 

edits 272 

Williams,     Roger,   Key   into   the 

Language  of  America 338 

Willm's  History  of  German  Phi 
losophy  47 

Wilson's  Catalogue  Raisonne 5 


Wilson's  Ornithology 387 

"       Sanscrit  Dictionary 39 

Winkelmann's  Monumenti  Inediti. .  27 

"              Histoire  de  1'Art,  112 

Wiseman,  Cardinal,  Holy  week.  .  27 

Withers's  Emblems 10 

Wood's  Athenae  Oxoniensis 85 

X. 

Xenophon 125 

Ximenes's  Biblia  Sacra  Polyglotta.  367 

Z. 

Zacchias's  Questiones  Medico  Le- 

gales 235 

Zeller's  Philosophy  of  the  Greeks,  47 

Zeni,  voyages  of 206 

Zodlogie  du  Voyage  Astrolabe.  . .  391 
Zoology,  Mr.  Brevoort's  collection 

of 123 

Zoology  of  the  Samarang 391 

"         "       Beagle 391 

Zuallardo's  II  Devotissimo  Viaggio 

di  Gerusalemme  (1586) 166 

Zuria,  Cardinal  II  MappaMondo.  .  206 

Zurita's  Annales  de  Aragon 372 


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